UMASS/AMHERST  # 


LIBRARY 


OF  THE 


MASSACHUSETTS 

AGRICULTURAL 

COLLEGE 


SO 


LOA 


URCEV^Ct  p 

74 
/     S93C5  <U 


DATE   DUE 

AN 


HISTORICAL   SKETCH 


OF 


STURBRIDGE,  MASS. 


FROM  ITS  SETTLEMENT  TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME. 


By  JOSEPH   S.   CLARK, 

Pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church  in  Sturbridge. 


« I  have  considered  the  days  of  old,  the  years  of  ancient  times." 

Psalms,  lxxvii.  3. 


BROOKFIELD : 
E.  AND  L.  MERRIAM,  PRINTERS 

1838, 


M38-..  )C 


NOTICE 


The  first  part  of  the  following  sketch,  embracing  the  civil  history  of  the  town,  is  the  substance 
of  a  centennial  address  delivered  to  the  citizens  of  Sturbridge,  July  4,  1838,  ten  days  after  the 
one  hundredth  anniversary  of  its  incorporation  as  a  town.  The  spirit  of  the  day  on  which 
it  was  delivered,  was  thought,  at  the  time,  to  be  a  sufficient  apology  for  lingering  so  long 
on  the  period  of  the  Revolutionary  war.  The  remaining  part,  which  is  a  simple  narrative  of 
Ecclesiastical  affairs,  was  chiefly  embodied  in  a  sermon,  and  preached  on  the  Sabbath  follow- 
ing. The  author  received  from  his  fellow  citizens,  by  their  committee,  a  polite  request  for 
its  publication,  immediately  after  its  delivery.  Feeble  health  and  absence  from  home  ren- 
dered it  impossible  for  him  at  that  time  to  give  it  such  a  revision  as  he  desired.  And  although 
many  important  facts  have  since  been  added,  he  regrets  that  he  has  been  unable  to  pursue 
his  investigations  to  the  extent  which  he  intended.  The  history,  such  as  it  is,  he  affection- 
ately tenders  to  the  inhabitants  of  Sturbridge  and  that  part  of  Southbridge  originally  includ- 
ed within  its  limits, — fully  aware  that  it  can  awaken  but  little  interest  amongst  any  others. 

The  sources  from  which  the  facts  have  been  drawn,  are  the  Town  and  Church  Records, 
the  reminiscences  of  the  aged,  and  such  traditions  as  could  be  easily  authenticated.  The  au- 
thor takes  pleasure  in  acknowledging  his  obligations  to  the  many  friends  who  have  assisted 
his  enquiries,  especially  to  Moses  Plimpton,  Esq.  of  Southbridge,  for  many  important  items 
respecting  the  first  settlers,  which,  with  a  commendable  zeal,  he  has  saved  from  oblivion,  and 
kindly  furnished  for  this  sketch. 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


Sturbridge  was  originally  settled  by  a  company  of  emigrants, 
chiefly  from  Medfield  and  a  few  other  towns  in  that  vicinity.  In 
their  petition  to  the  General  Court  for  a  grant,  the  contemplated 
township  is  described  as  "  a  tract  of  land  lying  between.  Oxford, 
Brookfield,  Brimfield,  and  the  Province  line,"  and  was  then  called 
Dumer. 

The  settlement  was  undertaken  in  much  the  same  spirit  which 
actuated  the  Pilgrims  of  New  England,  and  was  attended  with  diffi- 
culties which  bear  some  resemblance  to  theirs.  The  company  very 
generally  were  in  low  circumstances  of  property,  "  many  of  whom," 
say  they  in  their  petition,  "  are  destitute  of  settlements  for  themselves, 
and  not  well  able  to  purchase  necessary  accommodations  in  towns 
already  settled  ;  and  the  other  of  the  petitioners  being  in  want  of 
lands  for  their  descendants."  Three  times  they  petitioned  the  Ge- 
neral Court  before  their  request  was  granted  ; — first  in  Nov.  1727, 
then  in  April  1729,  and  finally  in  Sept.  the  same  year. 

We  know  not  for  what  reason  their  prayer  was  so  long  refused, 
unless  it  was,  as  the  petitioners  themselves  remark  in  their  last  appeal, 
"  probably  for  that  the  Honourable  Council  might  judge  that  the  tract 
of  land  prayed  for  is  not  capable  of  making  a  township"  Indeed, 
this  will  appear  not  far  from  the  true  reason,  if  it  be  considered  that 
the  Committee  sent  out  by  the  General  Court  to  view  the  land,  re- 
ported its  value  at  only  =£1000.  Paternal  kindness  forbade  the 
thought  of  permitting  a  colony  of  loyal  subjects  thus  to  throw  them- 
selves away  in  a  fruitless  attempt  to  erect  a  town  on  such  an  unpropi- 
tious  spot.  The  judgment  of  the  company,  however,  on  this  subject, 
differed  very  materially  from  that  of  his  Majesty's  "  Honourable  Coun- 
cil." In  reply  to  this  supposed  objection,  they  say,  "  Your  petition- 
ers humbly  beg  leave  to  inform  this  honourable  Court,  that  although 
there  is  indeed  much  poor  land  contained  therein,  yet  there  is  also  a 


Asyof 


considerable  quantity  of  good  land  fit  for  settlement ;  and  in  our 
humble  opinion  a  sufficiency  to  enable  your  petitioners,  by  the  bless- 
ing of  God,  in  concurrence  with  diligence  and  industry,  to  support 
the  ordinary  charges  of  a  township." 

At  length,  on  the  3d  of  Sept.  1729,  the  grant  was  made,  on  con- 
ditions, however,  which  show  that  the  Government  was  still  doubting 
how  the  experiment  would  end.  Nothing  was  required  for  the  land, 
although  the  petitioners  had  expressed  their  willingness  to  pay  its  es- 
timated value.  Instead  of  exacting  this,  the  General  Court  put  them 
under  the  following  obligations  : — "  In  seven  years'  time  from  this 
date  to  settle  and  have  actually  on  the  spot  50  families,  each  of 
which  to  build  an  house  of  18  feet  square  at  least. — To  break  up, 
and  bring  to,  fit  for  ploughing  and  mowing  (and  what  is  not  fit  for 
ploughing  to  be  well  stocked  with  English  grass)  seven  acres  of  land. 
— To  settle  an  orthodox  minister,  and  lay  out  to  him  an  home  lot, 
equal  to  the  other  home  lots ;  which  lot  shall  draw  the  fiftieth  part  of 
the  Province  land  now  granted,  and  to  be  accounted  as  one  of  the  50 
that  are  to  be  settled." 

In  addition  to  these  terms  it  was  also  required  that  no  one  of  the 
company  should  "sell,  alienate,  or  dispose  of  his  lot,  or  right,  or  any 
part  thereof"  during  the  seven  years,  unless  to  an  actual  settler,  "  in 
penalty  of  forfeiting  the  same  to  the  Province."  William  Ward, 
Esq.  one  of  the  petitioners,  was  "  empowered  and  directed  to  assem- 
ble the  grantees  and  act  as  moderator"  of  that  meeting.  Their  whole 
number  was  42,  and  their  names  stand  on  the  Proprietors'  Records 
in  the  following  order  ; — 

Melatiah  Bourn  Esq.  Timothy  Hament 

William  Ward  Esq.  William  Plimpton 

Ezra  Bourn  Ephriam  Partridge 

Shuball  Goram  Abraham  Harding 

Thomas  Learned  Moses  Harding 

Nathan  Fiske  Josiah  Ellis 

Henry  Fiske  Peter  Balch 

Capt.  Ebenezer  Learned  Ezra  Clark 

Nahum  Ward  Samuel  Ellis 

Gersham  Keyes  David  Ellis 

Zerobabel  Eager  Francis  Moquet 

John  Sherman  Henry  Adams 

Joseph  Baker  Tchabod  Harding 

Jonas  Haughton  John  Plimpton 


Thomas  Gleason  Josiah  Cheney 

Moses  Gleason  Capt.  John  Dwight 

Jonas  Gleason  Capt.  Jonathan  Boyden 

Joshua  Morse  Capt.  Joseph  Clark 

Joseph  Plimpton  Nathaniel  Morse 

Nathaniel  Smith  James  Denison 

Solomon  Clark  Joseph  Marsh. 

Some  others  were  admitted  into  partnership  with  these  soon  after 
the  grant  was  obtained,  among  whom  were  Nehemiah  Allen,  Moses 
Allen,  Seth  Wight,  David  Morse,  Moses  Marcy,  David  Shumway, 
and  John  Harding. 

Their  first  meeting  as  Proprietors  of  this  soil  was  held  at  the  Inn 
of  Joshua  Morse  in  Medfield,  and,  with  only  two  or  three  exceptions, 
all  their  subsequent  meetings  for  public  business  during  the  first 
seven  years  were  held  at  the  same  place.  The  settlement  soon  be- 
gan to  be  called  New-Medfield,  and  Dumer  became  an  obsolete  name. 
Abraham  Harding  was  appointed  Clerk  of  the  Company  ;  an  office 
which  he  sustained  without  intermission  till  the  town  was  incorporat- 
ed. The  records  which  remain  in  his  hand-writing,  exhibit  a  neat- 
ness and  accuracy  seldom  to  be  found  among  the  archives  of  that 
age. 

Their  first  business  was  to  lay  out  50  home  lots,  corresponding  to 
the  number  of  families  that  must  be  settled  within  seven  years. 
Owing  to  the  great  inequalities  of  soil  in  the  different  parts  of  the 
township,  it  was  no  easy  matter  to  make  a  perfectly  equitable  distri- 
bution. The  method  which  they  finally  adopted,  seems  as  free  from 
difficulties  as  any  that  we  can  imagine,  and  certainly  shows  an  ho- 
nest aim  at  impartial  justice.  A  committee  was  appointed  with  the 
following  instructions  : — "  To  lay  out  100  lots  in  the  best  of  our 
land,  adding  to  the  poorest  lots  a  quantity  of  acres  (according  to  the 
best  of  their  judgment)  to  make  them  as  equal  in  value  to  the  best 
as  they  can,  none  of  the  aforesaid  100  lots  to  be  less  than  50  acres; 
and  when  they  have  so  done,  then  to  couple  two  lots  together,  and 
make  them  as  equal,  each  couple  or  pair,  as  they  can,  and  fit  for 
draught  for  the  aforesaid  associates,  grantees."  On  the  9th  of  July 
1730,  the  lots  were  drawn,  and  each  proprietor  was  at  liberty  to  enter 
upon  the  arduous  task  of  clearing  away  the  forest,  building  him  a 
house,  and  improving  his  land. 

It  is  not  to  be  understood,  however,  that  they  all  actually  removed 
to  this  place.     Some,  as  before  observed,  enlisted  in  the  undertaking 


for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  a  settlement  for  their  children.  Others 
joined  in  the  petition  merely  to  aid  those  who  were  more  directly  in- 
terested, and  shortly  after  sold  their  right  in  whole  or  in  part,  to  such 
as  were  willing  to  settle  here  on  the  terms  prescribed  by  the  General 
Court.  It  nevertheless  appears  to  be  a  fact,  that  the  first  settlers  of 
this  town,  with  but  few  exceptions,  were  either  its  original  proprietors, 
or  the  children  of  those  who  were. 

These  hardy  pioneers,  if  tradition  tell  the  truth,  came  chiefly  on 
foot  and  alone  into  an  almost  unbroken  forest,  with  each  a  good  axe 
on  his  shoulder,  and  a  pack  to  his  back  containing  whatever  provi- 
sions and  utensils  would  best  enable  him  to  grapple  with  rude  nature 
in  single  combat.  The  wolf  and  the  wild-cat  had  never  yet  been 
driven  from  this  their  ancient  dominion,  and  the  timid  deer  bounded 
across  the  footman's  path  and  hid  himself  in  the  impenetrable  thicket. 
At  length  the  resounding  axe  began  to  be  heard  from  one  hill  and 
answered  from  another.  Openings  appeared  in  the  dense  forest,  and 
the  curling  smoke  might  be  seen  ascending  from  here  and  there  a 
hut. 

It  is  not  easy,  at  this  distant  day,  to  form  any  adequate  idea  of  the 
solitary,  self-denying  circumstances  in  which  these  first  comers  found 
themselves  placed.  The  following  facts  may  shed  some  light  on  this 
part  of  their  history. 

Henry  Fiske,  one  of  the  original  proprietors,  and  his  brother 
Daniel,  pitched  their  tent  near  the  top  of  the  hill  which  has  ever 
since  borne  their  name.  They  had  been  at  work  for  some  time  with- 
out knowing  which  way  they  must  look  for  their  nearest  neighbor, 
or  whether  indeed  they  had  a  neighbor  nearer  than  one  of  the  adja- 
cent towns.  At  length  on  a  clear  afternoon  they  heard  the  sound  of 
an  axe  far  off  in  a  southerly  direction,  and  went  in  pursuit  of  it. 
The  individual  whose  solitary  axe  they  heard,  had  also  been  attracted 
by  the  sound  of  their's,  and  was  advancing  towards  them  on  the 
same  errand.  They  came  in  sight  of  one  another,  on  opposite  sides 
of  the  Quinebaug  river.  By  felling  two  trees  into  the  stream,  one 
from  each  bank,  a  bridge  was  constructed  on  which  they  were  able 
to  meet  and  exchange  salutations.  The  unknown  man  of  the  axe 
was  found  to  be  James  Denison,  one  of  the  proprietors,  who  in  the 
absence  of  a  better  home  had  taken  lodgings  in  a  cave,  which  is  still 
to  be  seen  not  far  from  Westvill.  In  that  lonely  den  he  continued 
his  abode,  it  is  said,  till  a  neighboring  wolf,  who  probably  had  a  prior 


claim  to  the  premises,  signified  a  wish  to  take  possession,  when  Mr. 
Denison  peaceably  withdrew  and  built  him  a  house  of  his  own.* 

For  some  time  after  the  work  of  clearing  the  forest  had  been  un- 
dertaken, no  one  had  ventured  to  spend  the  winter  in  a  place  so  deso- 
late, and  distant  from  the  track  of  man.     The  proprietors,  or  whom- 
soever  they  employed,  usually  came  in  the  spring,  and  returned   to 
their  respective  towns  in  the  autumn.     Joseph  Smith,  with  no  other 
companion  than   his  faithful  dog,  was  the  first  who  encountered  the 
rigors  of  winter  in  Sturbridge.     Alexander  Selkirk  was  not  more  se- 
cluded  from  human  society  on  the  island  of  Juan  Fernandez,  than 
Mr.  Smith  was  in  this  place  during  four  months,  having  neither'seen, 
nor  heard   from,  a  human  being  in  all  that  time.     The  cellar  which 
protected  his  frugal  store  from  the  frosts  of  that  dreary  winter   may 
still  be  seen  on  the  farm  of  Jabez  Harding  Esq.  not  far  from  an  aged 
Pear-tree,  which  Mr.  Smith  is  said  to  have  planted  soon  after  he 
came. 

On  the  29th  of  Nov.  1733  the  company  made  a  second  division  of 
land,  at  which  time  it  was  voted  that  "  Moses  Marcy  have  a  50  acre 
lot  granted  him,  if  he  will  build  a  grist-mill  on  the  Quinebaug  river 
at  the  dam  where  the  said  Marcy  hath  built  a  saw-mill"— to  be  com- 
pleted before  the  last  of  Sept.  1736.  I  conclude,  therefore,  that 
whoever  in  this  town  had  occasion  to  -go  to  mill"  before  the  last  of 
Sept.  1736,  went  either  to  Brimfield,  Brookfield,  Oxford  or  into  Con- 
necticut. Perhaps,  however,  they  had  no  occasion  to  go;  for  it  is 
reported  by  some  of  the  oldest  of  their  descendants  now  living  that 
their  principal  diet  at  first  was  boiled  beans.  These  they  usually  pre- 
pared on  the  evening  of  one  day  in  sufficient  quantities  for  the  break- 
fast and  dinner  of  the  next.     So  that  eookery,  which  with  us  has  be- 

*  Mr  Denison  was  a  native  of  Scotland.  His  parents  both  dying  when  he  was  youn*, 
he  went  to  live  With  an  aunt.  When  he  was  about  16  years  of  age,  he  was  enticed  from 
home,  and  embarked  on  board  a  vessel  bound  for  New-  England.  On  his  arrival  in  this  coun- 
try, having  no  other  means  of  paying  for  his  passage,  he  bound  himself  to  the  service  of  the 
Captain.  His  master  disposed  of  him  to  a  farmer  living  in  Medfield,  whom  the  youthful  ad- 
venturer served  for  the  space  of  four  years  and  eight  months.  When  he  became  of  age,  his 
only  earthly  estate,  besides  the  clothes  on  his  back,  consisted  of  twenty-Jive  cents,  which  he 
obtained  for  the  skins  of  two  Muskrats  that  he  had  trapped.  Being  a  young  man  of  indus- 
trious habits,  he  was  admitted  into  partnership  with  the  company  which  was  then  forming  in 
M  JT^  1CinitJrf0r  ^  SettIement  *  Sturbridge.  Mr.  Denison  married  his  wife  in 
Medfield,  and  removed  her  to  this  town  in  May  1732.  She  was  probably  the  first  woman 
that  ever  shared  the  toils,  or  enjoyed  the  bliss  of  domestic  life  in  Sturbridge.  On  the  31st  of 
August  following,  she  became  the  mother  of  Experience  Denison,  the  first  child  that  was 
born  in  the  town,  and  subsequently  the  wife  of  Capt.  Ralph  Wheelock,  from  whom  a  nume- 
merous  and  respectable  family  have  descended. 


8 

come  such  a  difficult  and  engrossing  part  of  household  care,  they  de- 
spatched with  great  ease  and  in  little  time.*  On  the  whole  it  ap- 
pears, that  the  honoured  fathers  of  this  town  were  men  of  hardihood, 
resolution,  self-denial ;  and  that  they  found  sufficient  scope  for  the 
exercise  of  these  gifts  during  the  first  few  years  of  their  residence 
here. 

The  work  of  settlement  went  on  with  increasing  rapidity  in  defi- 
ance of  all  obstacles,  till  at  the  end  of  seven  years  this  little  commu- 
nity of  New-Medfield  could  number  "  50  families"  with  each  "  an 
house  of  18  feet  square  at  least,"  surrounded  by  "  seven  acres  of  land 
broke  up  and  brought  to,  fit  for  ploughing  and  mowing,"  and  had 
"settled  an  orthodox  minister."  Having  thus  fulfilled  the  conditions 
of  the  grant,  on  the  24th  of  June  1738,  they  were  incorporated  into 
a  town,  and  the  name  of  Sturbridge  took  the  place  of  New-Medfield, 
as  that  had  formerly  supplanted  Dumer. 

By  an  order  of  General  Court  accompanying  the  Act  of  Incorpo- 
ration, Moses  Marcy,  who  is  therein  styled  "  one  of  the  principal 
inhabitants,"!  was  "  authorized  and  empowered  to  assemble  the  free- 

*  The  office  of  cook,  however,  even  in  those  days  of  simple  fare,  was  not  entirely  free  from 
perplexity.  Their  household  conveniences  were  by  no  means  the  best.  It  is  said  that  Mes- 
srs. Henry  and  Daniel  Fiske  on  one  occasion  lost  their  supper,  and  with  it  the  principal  part 
of  their  culinary  apparatus,  by  the  unlucky  fall  of  a  stone  from  the  top  of  their  chimney,  which 
dashed  in  pieces  the  iron  pot  while  the  beans  were  boiling. 

|  Col.  Marcy  was  born  in  Woodstock,  Ct.  where,  in  1?23  he  married  Miss  Prudence  Mor- 
ris. The  humble  rank  which  he  held  in  society  at  that  time  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact, 
that  his  first  overtures  to  Miss  Prudence  were  sternly  disallowed  by  her  parents.  The  more 
effectually  to  prevent  what  they  deemed  an  unequal  match,  it  is  reported  that  they  even  con- 
fined their  daughter  to  her  chamber,  and  forbade  her  lover's  visits  to  the  house.  Notwith- 
standing these  precautions,  he  found  means  of  bringing  the  young  lady  to  a  secret  parley  one 
night  from  her  chamber  window.  During  this  stolen  interview  it  was  agreed  between  them, 
that  he  should  secretly*  repair  to  a  place  at  some  distance  called  Pamlico,  and  that  she  should 
obtain  her  parents'  leave  to  visit  a  relative  of  hers  who  lived  in  that  place.  The  careful  pa- 
rents could  make  no  objection  to  their  daughter's  proposal,  and  as  it  would  seem  to  place 
her  beyond  the  reach  of  all  annoyance  from  the  unwelcome  suitor,  they  sent  her  away.  Here 
the  acquaintance  between  Mr.  Marcy  and  Miss  Morris  was  renewed,  and  their  mutual  at- 
tachment strengthened  till  at  length  it  resulted  in  matrimony. — They  removed  to  this  town 
in  1732  with  a  family  of  Jive  children,  which  was  afterwards  increased  to  eleven.  Col. 
Marcy  soon  became  not  only  "  one  of  the  principal  inhabitants,"  as  he  is  here  styled,  but  in 
the  opinion  of  his  fellow  townsmen,  the  principal  one.  He  was  the  first  citizen  who  received 
the  appointment  of  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  was  the  first  Representative  which  the  town  sent 
to  the  General  Court.  He  held  the  office  of  Moderator  in  seventy  town-meetings,  having 
been  called  to  the  chair  at  every  annual  meeting,  and  at  most  of  the  intervening  ones,  for 
twenty-four  successive  years.  He  was  on  the  Board  of  Select  Men  thirty-one  years,  Town 
Clerk  eighteen,  and  Town  Treasurer  eight, — not  unfrequently  filling  all  these  offices  at  once. 
During  the  old  French  War  he  repeatedly  fitted  out  soldiers  for  the  army  on  his  own  respon- 
sibility, and  from  his  own  private  resources,  for  which  he  was  afterwards  remunerated  by 


0 

holders  and  other  qualified  voters,"  for  the  purpose  of  choosing  town 
officers.  That  meeting  was  held  Sept.  IS,  J 738,  at  which,  Moses 
Marcy  was  chosen  Moderator;  Daniel  Fiske,  Town-Clerk;  Daniel 
Fiske,  Moses  Marcy,  Henry  Fiske,  Select  Men ;  and  Joseph  Smith, 
Constable  :  to  which  were  added  the  usual  complement  of  Fence 
Viewers,  Surveyors  of  the  Highways,  Hog-reeves,  Deer-reeves,  and 
a  Cleric  of  the  Market.  It  is  rather  difficult  for  us  now  to  compre- 
hend the  duties  of  this  last  named  office,  as  there  appears  to  have 
been  nothing  yet  in  the  market,  unless  it  were  wood  and  wild  land. 
These  officers  were  to  hold  their  appointment  only  "  till  the  anniver- 
sary meeting  in  March,"  when  the  public  business  of  the  town  com- 
menced in  due  form. 

On  the  13th  of  Feb.  1739  the  Select  Men  of  Sturbridge  issued 
their  first  warrant  for  a  town-meeting,  which,  as  it  gives  an  insight 
into  the  extent  of  their  municipal  affairs  at  that  early  day,  I  will  here 
insert.     It  is  as  follows  : — 

"  Worcester,  ss.  To  Joseph  Smith,  Constable  of  Sturbridge. — 
In  his  Majesty's  name  you  are  required  forthwith  to  warn  all  the  free- 
holders and  other  inhabitants  of  the  said  town,  to  convene  at  the 
Meetinghouse  in  Sturbridge  aforesaid,  on  Monday  the  5th  day  of 
March  next,  at  9  of  the  clock  in  the  forenoon,  then  and  there  to  elect 
and  depute  Select  Men,  Constable,  and  other  town  officers  (as  the 
law  directs)  to  serve  this  town  for  the  year  ensuing  : — to  furnish  Mr. 
Rice's  Desk  with  a  cushion  : — and  to  agree  upon  the  granting  such 
sum  or  sums  of  money  as  shall  be  judged  needful  for  the  benefit  of, 
and  defraying  all  necessary  charges  arising  within,  the  said  town  : — 
and  to  agree  and  conclude  upon  any  other  matter  or  things,  which 
shall  be  thought  needful  to  promote  the  benefit  and  welfare  thereof." 

So  far  from  attending  to  "  any  other  matter  or  things"  at  that 
meeting,  it  does  not  appear  from  the  records  that  all  the  matters  were 
despatched  which  are  here  specified.  There  is  no  account  of  any  mo- 
ney granted,  or  "  cushion"  furnished.  In  their  next  meeting,  however, 
which  came  a  month  later,  they  granted  the  minister's  salary,  hired 
a  man  to  procure  his  wood,  and  "  voted  that  £25  (about  $11,10)  be 
put  into  the  treasury  for  the  towns  use  /"  If  this  seems  to  us  a  mo- 
derate sum  for  "  defraying  all  necessary  charges  arising  within  the 
town"  throughout  the  year,  it  should  be  remembered  that,  as  yet, 

the  town.  He  died  Oct.  9,  1779,  at  the  age  of  72,  leaving  an  honourable  name,  a  large  es- 
tate, and  a  numerous  posterity.  The  present  Gov.  Marcy  of  New  York  is  a  great  grandson 
of  his. 

2 


10 

there  were  no  schools  to  provide  for,  nor  any  paupers  to  support, 
while  the  Highway  tax,  which  was  by  far  the  largest  item  of  public 
expenditure,  was  paid  in  labor  and  teams.  It  may  also  be  remarked 
in  this  place,  that  the  price  of  labor,  which  is  usually  an  index  to  the 
prices  of  other  things,  was  G  shillings  Old  Tenor,  or  about  14  cents, 
per  day. 

The  subject  of  Education  was  brought  into  town  meeting  for  the 
first  time,  Oct.  6,  1740.  In  the  warrant  for  that  meeting  there  was 
an  article,  "  To  see  if  the  town  [will]  come  into  any  measures  to 
provide  a  school."  It  passed  in  the  negative,  and  I  can  find  no  evi- 
dence of  any  farther  action  on  this  important  subject  for  a  year  and 
six  months  !*  At  length  in  March,  1742,  "  the  question  was  put, 
whether  the  town  would  grant  <£20  for  schooling  of  the  children  in 
this  town,  and  that  the  Select  Men  should  dispose  of  the  same  for 
that  purpose;  and  it  passed  in  the  affirmative."  The  Select  Men 
divided  this  sum,  giving  ^£10  10s.  for  the  support  of  two  schools  in 
the  "  South  East  part  of  the  town,"' and  £9  10s.  for  the  support  of 
two  in  the  "  North  West  part."  So  that  the  first  step  towards  the 
advancement  of  Common  Education  in  this  place,  was  the  establish- 
ment of  four  schools  at  the  average  expense  of  £5  per  school. 
These  were  kept  only  in  the  summer  season  ;  and  the  names  of  the 
four  teachers  who  had  the  honor  of  laying  the  foundation  of  learning- 
among  us  (peace  to  their  venerated  dust!)  were  Margaret  Manning, 
Mary  Hoar,  the  wife  of  Jeremiah  Streeter,  and  the  wife  of  John  Stacy. 

The  next  year  the  town  voted  =£30  for  the  same  object,  which  was 
divided  in  the  same  way,  and  the  year  following  they  increased  it  to 
<£40,  one  half  to  be  expended  in  the  summer,  and  the  rest  in  the  win- 
ter "  to  instruct  children  to  write."  A  question  afterwards  arose  in 
town  meeting,  whether  the  money  for  this  winter  school  should  be 

*  Probably  there  is  not  a  circumstance  in  the  early  history  of  this  town  which  the  present 
and  future  generations  will  review  with  less  satisfaction. — It  had  been  a  law  of  the  Province 
for  almost  an  hundred  years,  "that  every  township  within  this  jurisdiction,  after  the  Lord 
hath  increased  them  to  the  number  of  fifty  householders,  shall  then  forthwith  appoint  one  within 
their  towns  to  teach  all  such  children  as  shall  resort  to  him,  to  write  and  read."  This  ancient 
law  was  substantially  re-enacted  with  a  penalty  of  £10  about  fifty  years  before  this  town 
was  settled,  which  penalty  in  1702  was  increased  to  £20.  As  the  citizens  of  Slurbridge  do 
not  appear  to  have  incurred  this  penalty,  while  they  were  thus  neglecting  to  provide  a  pub- 
lic school,  we  are  permitted  to  hope  that  .there  was  some  sufficient  reason,  which  we  cannot 
now  discover,  for  that  neglect.  But  to  us.  with  only  the  facts  which  we  have,  it  certainly  ap- 
pears unaccountable,  that  while  the  swine,  the  cattle,  and  even  the  wild  deer  of  the  forest 
came  into  remembrance  at  every  annual  meeting,  and  secured  public  favor,  the  children  were 
thu»  forgotten. 


11 

laid  out.  It  was  finally  left  undecided  by  the  town,  but  probably  was 
not  laid  out,  for  in  the  next  March  meeting  a  grant  of  only  c£20  was 
made,  accompanied  by  a  vote,  "  that  the  school  should  be  kept  in 
four  places  in  the  town,  and  to  choose  four  men  to  provide  the  dames." 
The  appointment  of  this  School  Committee,  or  "  four  men  to  provide 
the  dames,"  was  quite  an  advance  upon  any  thing  before  known  in 
the  system  of  Common  Education,  and  has  has  long  since  passed  into 
a  standing  law. 

As  yet  there  was  not  a  school-house  in  town.  The  children  usu- 
ally assembled  in  some  private  dwelling,  though  occasionally  in  a 
bam  till  the  haying  season  came  and  the  building  was  wanted  for 
other  purposes.  At  length,  in  1753,  the  town  voted  to  build  three 
school-houses.  One  was  located  in  the  South  Eastern  section,  within 
the  present  limits  of  Southbridge  ;  another  in  the  North  Western  ; 
and  the  remaining  one  in  the  centre.  The  next  year  a  Committee 
was  appointed  to  locate  a  school-house  in  the  North  Eastern  part. 

In  the  warrant  for  their  annual  meeting,  1754,  I  find  the  following 
article  touching  schools,  viz.  "  To  see  if  the  town  will  grant  a  sum 
of  money  for  schooling  children,  or  employ  Ichabod  Sparrow  Paine 
in  that  employment."  Their  action  on  this  article  is  recorded  thus: 
"  It  was  put  to  vote  whether  the  town  would  proceed  to  hire  Sparrow 
Paine  to  keep  school  in  town  ;  and  it  passed  in  the  affirmative." 
From  the  formal  manner  in  which  this  gentleman  is  introduced  to 
our  notice,  and  the  still  more  formal  way  in  which  his  services  are 
secured,  I  conclude  that  Ichabod  Sparrow  Paine  was  the  first  School- 
master that  was  ever  employed  in  this  town.  Mr.  Comfort  Johnson, 
who  has  passed  his  ninetieth  year,  and  is  the  oldest  man  now  living 
among  us,  was  one  of  his  scholars.  From  him  I  learn  that  Mr. 
Paine  was  hired  by  the  year  to  instruct  all  the  youth  in  town ;  which 
he  did  by  going  in  a  circuit  from  one  school-house  to  another,  at 
stated  periods,  and  receiving  at  each  place  all  who  could  make  it 
convenient  to  come,  without  regard  to  district  or  distance.  The 
usual  course  of  instruction  at  that  time  was  something  like  the  fol- 
lowing. The  child  was  first  taken  through  the  New  England  Primer, 
and  Dilworth's  Spelling-Eook,  excepting  such  portions  as  the  teach- 
er foresaw  would  be  of  no  practical  use.  Then  came  the  Psalter, 
which  was  the  principal  reading  book  ;  but,  in  order  to  give  the 
youthful  powers  of  elocution  their  finishing  touch,  they  were  exercis- 
ed on  the  first  book  of  Chronicles,  or  the  tenth  chapter  of  Nehemiah, 
or  wherever  else  the  teacher  could  find  a  page  of  pure  Hebrew  names. 


12 

In  Arithmetic  the  "  Golden  Rule  of  Three"  was  the  utmost  limit 
which  the  boys  were  expected  to  reach  ;  the  girls  having  no  occasion 
for  figures  could  be  better  employed  in  some  other  way.  As  for 
Grammar  and  Geography,  the  former  was  supposed  to  be  of  no  use 
to  common  people,  and  the  latter  had  not  been  heard  of  at  this  dis- 
tance in  the  country. 

The  annual  appropriation  of  money  for  schooling  at  this  time  was 
70  or  80  pounds  Old  Tenor,  amounting  to  30  or  35  dollars.  The 
sum  was  slowly  increased  till  1761,  when  a  new  impulse  was  given 
to  the  cause  of  education.  Near  the  beginning  of  that  year,  "  after 
some  debate  upon  the  situation  of  the  schools,  it  was  put  to  vote  to 
see  whether  the  town  would  choose  a  committee  out  of  every  cor- 
ner, to  take  into  consideration  the  circumstances  of  said  affair  ;  and 
voted  in  the  affirmative."  In  pursuance  of  this  vote  ten  of  the  princi- 
pal inhabitants  were  constituted  a  Committee,  with  instructions  to 
"  report  to  the  town  as  speedily  as  may  be."  The  most  essential 
part  of  their  report  was,  "  that  each  school  district  should  draw- 
out  of  the  treasury  as  much  money  as  they  pay  to  the  school  rate  ;" 
which  report  was  adopted  by  the  town.  This  important  measure 
rendered  it  necessary  to  establish  school  districts  with  definite  boun- 
daries,— a  thing  which  had  never  yet  been  done.  The  school  law 
then  in  force  contemplated  nothing  more  than  the  maintainance  of 
"  a  school"  in  every  such  town.  But  where  could  a  single  school  be 
kept,  that  would  accommodate  any  considerable  part  of  a  population 
scattered  over  a  territory  ten  or  twelve  miles  square?  To  remedy 
this  difficulty  the  people  had  already  divided  their  school  money  be- 
tween the  Northern  and  Southern  sections  of  the  town,  which  divi- 
sions had  again  been  subdivided  between  several  schools.  But  the 
remedy  was  incomplete  till  the  whole  town  was  parcelled  out  into 
regularly  defined  districts,  and  the  inhabitants  of  each  district  had 
the  privilege  and  the  responsibility  of  expending  their  own  share  of 
the  school  money,  in  supporting  a  school  in  their  own  district.  Such 
indeed  is  the  present  law  of  this  Commonwealth  :  but  the  plan  was 
devised  and  adopted  by  the  citizens  of  this  town  long  before  our 
law-makers  had  suggested  such  a  thought.  The  committee  who 
were  appointed  to  divide  the  town  into  school  districts,  reported  Jive, 
viz.  "  The  Middle,"  including  the  centre  village  ;  "  The  Southerly," 
embracing  what  is  now  Southbridge ;  "The  South  West;"  "The 
North  West ;"  and  "  The  North  East."  The  same  year  the  town 
raised  £25  Lawful  Money,  or  $110,  for  school  instruction,  and  adopt- 


13 

ed  the  rule,  which  has  ever  since  been  followed,  of  expending  three 
quarters  of  the  money  in  the  winter,  and  the  remainder  in  the  sum- 
mer. Other  districts  have  been  added  from  time  to  time,  and  the 
amount  of  appropriations  increased,  till  there  are  now  18  school  dis- 
tricts on  the  territory  which  was  then  included  within  the  limits  of 
Sturbridge,  and  about  $2000  annually  raised  by  the  inhabitants  of 
these  districts  for  the  support  of  common  schools. 

The  first  notice  that  I  can  find  of  a  town  pauper  in  Sturbridge,  is 
contained  in  the  warrant  for  a  town  meeting  to  be  held  in  May  1765. 
In  that  warrant  is  the  following  article,  viz.  "  To  see  if  the  town  will 
do  any  thing  whereby  the  Old  Frenchman  who  lives  at  Col.  Marcy's 
Mills  may  be  enabled  to  support  his  family,  and  pay  his  rent."  The 
action  of  the  town  upon  this  article  is  recorded  thus  :  "  Doct. 
Erasmus  Babbit  brought  his  account  of  19  shillings,  11  pence,  Law- 
ful Money,  for  doctoring  the  old  Frenchman,  his  wife  and  child  ; 
which  was  allowed  him  by  a  vote  of  the  town."  It  is  certainly  an 
intelligible  and  interesting  comment  on  the  early  industry  and  thrift 
of  this  place,  that  the  first  call  for  pecuniary  assistance  from  the  town 
was  not  made  till  more  than  thirty  years  after  its  settlement  com- 
menced, and  even  then  by  a  sick  and  disabled  foreigner !  We  al- 
ready begin  to  see  that  his  Majesty's  "  Honorable  Council"  had  mis- 
taken either  the  quality  of  the  soil,  or  the  character  of  its  settlers, 
in  judging  that  the  tract  of  land  prayed  for  was  not  capable  of  mak- 
ing a  township.  It  was  some  years  after  this  first  application  for  aid, 
before  another  was  presented,  and  a  much  longer  time  before  any 
one.  stood  in  need  of  permanent  assistance  from  the  town. 

We  come  now  to  a  period  in  the  history  of  Sturbridge  fraught  with 
events  of  peculiar  interest.  I  refer  to  the  period  of  the  American 
Revolution — a  period  which  gave  birth  to  an  influence  that  has  gone 
out  from  these  shores  to  every  land,  and  will  be  felt  in  every  age  till 
the  last  stroke  of  departing  time.  If  we  could  ever  admit  the  truth 
of  that  ancient  maxim,  "  vox  populi  vox  Dei," — The  voice  of  the 
people  is  the  voice  of  God, — we  might  easily  believe  that  there  was 
something  divine  in  the  voice  which  summoned  these  colonies  to  that 
struggle,  for  it  was  certainly  the  voice  of  the  people.  I  see  nothing 
in  the  transactions  of  that  eventful  day  more  truly  surprising,  than 
that  plain  men,  who  had  spent  their  days  in  subduing  wild  land,  and 
making  new  roads  among  these  hills,  should  take  it  upon  them  to 
settle  questions  touching  the  prerogatives  of  kings  and  the  rights  of 
nations.     Yet  such  was  the   business   in  which   the  citizens  of  this 


14 

town  seem  to  have  been  chiefly  engaged  for  several  years.  Nor  were 
the  decisions  to  which  they  came  on  these  points  any  thing  like  those 
windy,  vaporing  speculations  which  will  sometimes  procure  for  a  man 
the  name,  of  a  patriot  and  politician.  They  were  such  decisions  as 
men  form  when  they  feel  that  they  shall  be  called  to  support  them  at 
the  hazard  of  fortune  and  life ;  they  were  such  as  their  posterity,  af- 
ter more  than  half  a  century  of  reflection,  still  approve. 

In  the  warrant  for  a  town  meeting,  which  was  held  Oct.  17,  1765, 
a  leading  article  was,  "  To  see  if  the  town  will  give  their  representa- 
tive some  instructions  respecting  the  Stamp  Act  coming  in  force,  im- 
posing a  tax  upon  these  Colonies."  Their  action  upon  this  article  is 
recorded  thus  ; — "  After  some  considerable  debate  in  the  meeting 
about  the  said  Stamp  Act,  and  after  reading  considerable  part  of  said 
Act,  the  town  proceeded  to  give  their  representative  the  following 
instructions,  viz.  that  the  town  look  upon  the  duty  of  the  Stamp  Act 
to  be  insupportable,  and  do  instruct  and  desire  their  representative  to 
use  the  utmost  of  his  endeavors  consistent  with  loyally,  that  said 
Stamp  Act  may  be  repealed."  The  representative  that  year  was  Col. 
Moses  Marcy,  who  was  also  chairman  of  the  Select  Men. 

Their  next  instructions  to  their  representative  show  less  tenderness 
of  conscience  on  the  subject  of  loyalty.  The  Lieut.  Governor,  and 
some  other  of  his  Majesty's  faithful  servants  in  Boston,  had  sus- 
tained a  considerable  loss  of  property  in  the  riot  which  was  occa- 
sioned there  by  the  odious  Stamp  Act ;  and  the  question  which  came 
before  the  people  of  this  town  at  their  meeting,  Sept.  12,  1766  was, 
"  whether  the  town  will  give  their  representative  any  instruction  what 
the  mind  of  the  town  is,  and  what  the  town  would  have  the  General 
Court  do  about  making  up  that  loss?"  Their  views  were  expressed 
in  the  following  rather  remarkable  words  :  "  Voted,  that  our  repre- 
sentative use  his  endeavor  in  the  General  Court,  that  the  loss,  which 
the  Lieut.  Governor  sustained  last  year  by  the  mob  or  riot  respecting 
the  Stamp  Act,  be  made  up  to  him  with  as  much  credit,  and  as  lit- 
tle charge  to  the  Province,  as  may  be;" — which  was  afterwards  ex- 
plained as  meaning  that  they  would  have  the  General  Court  do  no- 
thing about  it. 

The  increasing  burdens  which  Great  Britain  imposed  on  the  Colo- 
nies increased  the  strength  of  their  determination  to  throw  them  off. 
In  this  town  a  special  meeting  of  the  citizens  was  called  by  the  Se- 
lect Men,  June  27,  1774,  "  to  consider  of  some  measures  proper  to 
be  adopted  for  the  safety  and  defence  of  the  Province  in  this  distress- 


15 

ed  condition  by  reason  of  several  late  acts  of  the  British  Parliament." 
The  Select  Men  at  this  time  were  Daniel  Fiske,  Nathaniel  Walker, 
James  Johnson,  John  Tarbell  and  Samuel  Ellis.  "  After  solemn  pray- 
er to  God  for  direction,"  they  chose  one  of  their  number  to  officiate 'as 
"Speaker;"  and  having  discussed  the  public  grievances  for  several 
hours,  the  united  voice  of  the  town,  as  expressed  by  formal  vote,  was, 
not  to  purchase  any  goods  which  should  be  imported  from  England 
after  a  certain  specified  time.  They  even  entered  into  solemn  co- 
venant with  each  other  to  abide  by  this  vote,  and  signed  their  names. 
On  the  25th  of  the  next  August  another  meeting  was  called  for  the 
purpose  of  acting  upon  the  following  proposition,  which  seems  to 
have  come  from  some  other  quarter,  and  was  probably  sent  to  all  the 
towns  in  the  County,  viz.  "  That,  considering  the  present  alarmino- 
situation  of  our  public  affairs  by  reason  of  several  late  acts  of  the  Bri- 
tish Parliament,  altering  the  course  of  justice  and  annihilating  our 
once  free  Constitution  and  Government,  a  Committee  be  chosen  in 
each  town  in  the  County  to  meet  at  Worcester,  or  some  other  suitable 
place,  to  consult  and  advise  what  is  necessary  and  prudent  to  be  done 
by  the  inhabitants  of  this  County."  After  a  free  discussion  the  pro- 
position was  carried  unanimously,  and  a  Committee  appointed,  con- 
sisting of  Moses  Weld,  Timothy  Newell,*  William  McKinstry,  John 

*  The  Hun.  Timothy  Newell,  Esq.  was  born  at  Needham,  in  1742.  He  removed  to  Stur- 
bridge,  a  young  mechanic,  without  property  or  patrons,  and  established  himself  in  the  manu- 
acture  of  spinning-wheels,  chairs,  and  rales,  about  the  year  1763.  In  this  humble,  but  ho- 
nest calling  he  labored  for  many  years.  By  industry  and  economy  he  was  at  length  enabled 
to  open  a  small  store,  which  was  gradually  enlarged  till  he  found  himself  engaged  extensively 
in  trade,  and  the  owner  of  a  handsome  estate — one  of  the  most  considerable  in  town.  His 
early  educat'ion  was  quite  limited,  but  by  reading,  observation,  and  thinking,  he  became  fami- 
liar with  many  of  the  sciences — especially  mathematics  and  mechanism — to  which  he  also 
added  an  extensive  knowledge  of  history  and  politics. 

His  natural  and  acquired  talents  prepared  him  to  exert  an  influence  in  society,  and  soon 
brought  him  into  public  life.  At  the  commencement  of  the  revolutionary  war  he  entered  the 
army  as  Brigade  Major,  and  when  he  left  the  service  he  held  the  rank  of  Colonel.  He  was 
one  «f  the  foremost  in  resisting  the  mutinous  spirit  which  at  length  broke  out  in  Shays'  rebel- 
lion, and  was  next  to  General  Lincoln  in  command  of  the  troops  sent  by  the  Government  to 
quell  it.  Either  before  or  immediately  after  this  event  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Maj. 
General  of  the  division  of  militia  in  this  County.  As  a  civilian  he  was  not  less  distinguished 
than  as  a  soldier,  having  been  called  more  than  once  to  a  seat  in  the  Governor's  Honorable 
Council. 

While  Gen.  Newell  was  in  the  army  he  became  acquainted  with  the  religious  speculations 
of  the  French  philosophers,  and  perhaps,  like  many  others  at  that  time,  secretly  adopted  them 
as  his  own.  But  he  made  no  attempts  to  influence  the  minds  of  others,  nor  even  withheld  his 
support  from  the  religious  society  in  town.  On  the  contrary  he  took  a  leading  part  in  adding 
a  steeple  to  the  Meetinghouse,  in  which  he  also  placed  a  town-clock  at  his  own  expense. 
He  died  Feb.  5,  1819,  aged  76  years.     His  grave-stone  bears  the  following  honorable  testi- 


16 

Salmon,  and  Benjamin  Freeman.  The  convention  was  held  soon 
t>fter,  and  a  report  of  their  proceedings,  "  being  read  twice  distinctly" 
to  the  assembled  citizens  of  this  town,  was  approved  by  vote. 

Hitherto  the  people  of  these  Colonies  had  employed  no  other  wea- 
pons in  the  sacred  cause  of  liberty  than  those  of  argument  and  en- 
treaty. Ten  years  had  already  elapsed  since  the  controversy  began, 
and  no  deliverance  had  been  wrought,  no  wrong  redressed ;  nor  was 
there  any  prospect  of  better  success  by  a  continuance  of  the  same 
pacific  measures.  On  the  contrary  new  burdens  had  been  imposed, 
and  others  still  were  threatened.  They  were  thinking,  therefore,  with 
painful  interest,  of  a  resort  to  arms.  The  citizens  of  Sturbridge  were 
not  behind  the  foremost  of  their  fellow  countrymen  in  giving  expres- 
sion to  these  sentiments.  In  a  regular  town  meeting,  Sept.  28,  1774, 
it  was  voted,  "to  provide  four  half  barrels  of  powder,  5  cwt.  of  lead, 
and  500  flints."  Timothy  Newell  and  Erasmus  Babbit  stepped  for- 
ward and  generously  offered  to  furnish  one  half  barrel  of  powder  at 
their  own  expense;  which  was  received  with  applause.  A  committee 
of  seven  were  then  chosen  "  to  make  provision  for  the  men  of  this 
town  in  case  they  should  be  called  away  upon  any  sudden  emergen- 
cy," and  a  vote  was  passed  "  by  a  great  majority",  to  pay  the  men 
who  should  thus  be  called  away.  At  the  same  meeting  they  appoint- 
ed Capt.  Timothy  Parker  a  delegate  to  the  Provincial  Congress  to  be 
convened  soon  after  at  Concord. 

In  the  month  of  November  following,  another  town  meeting  was 
held  in  which  the  Select  Men  were  authorized  to  provide  still  more 
ammunition.  On  this  occasion  the  Rev.  Joshua  Paine,  who  was  then 
Pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church,  proposed  to  pay  for  one  cask  of 
powder  himself,  if  the  town  would  be  at  the  trouble  of  procuring  it ; 
whereupon  Lieut.  Henry  Fiske,  one  of  the  principal  members  of  the 
Baptist  Church  offered  to  give  1  cwt.  of  lead  to  go  with  it. 

From  such  expressions  of  individual  feeling  we  may  easily  conjec- 
ture what  was  the  general  feeling  in  the  community.  But  we  have 
something  more  decisive  than  mere  conjecture.  That  they  might 
know  the  real  spirit  that  prevailed  in  the  town,  and  the  precise  state 
of  their  military  affairs,  they  adjourned  the  meeting  till  the  first  Mon- 
day in  Dec.  at  10  o'clock  A.  M.  with  a  request,  "  that  all  the  men  in 

rtiony, — "  Distinguished  for  his  wisdom  in  counsel,  and  his  valor  in  defending  the  liberty 
of  his  country. ." — His  wife  was  Miriam,  the  daughter  of  Col.  Moses  Marcy.  Of  their  9 
children  only  2  remain — Mrs.  Allen  of  Worcester,  and  a  sister  residing  in  Salem,  N.  Y. 


17 

town,  from  10  years  old  and  upward,  then  meet  at  the  Meetinghouse 
in  Sturbridge  with  arms  and  ammunition  in  order  for  reviewing." 

That  meeting  must  have  been  one  of  extraordinary  interest.  Ten 
o'clock  A.  M.  the  1st  Monday  in  Dec.  1774  found  this  Common  a 
military  camp.  It  had  never  presented  such  a  spectacle  before,  and 
probably  it  never  will  again.  Here  stood  the  elders  of  the  town  form- 
ed into  a  company  of  "  'Alarm  men."  There  the  gallant  Capt.  Par- 
ker was  marshaling  the  active  and  athletic  youth  into  a  band  of  "  Mi- 
nute men."  The  brave  Capt.  Newell  with  his  company  of  Grena- 
diers were  drawn  up  in  another  part  of  the  field  ;  while  a  body  of  Ca- 
valry under  Capt.  Craft  occupied  still  another.  Almost  every  male 
citizen  over  16  years  of  age  had  become  a  soldier.  All  things  being 
properly  arranged,  they  marched  into  the  Church  in  military  order. 
The  rest  I  will  relate  in  the  language  of  the  town  records. — "  After 
solemn  prayer  to  God,  and  singing,  the  Rev.  Joshua  Paine  preached 
a  sermon  from  Psalms .*  After  the  exercise  was  over,  the  ad- 
journment of  the  town  meeting  was  read  and  the  remaining  part  of 
the  articles  which  had  not  been  acted  upon.  Proposed  by  the 
town  to  call  over  the  list  of  the  Alarm  men  first,  the  number  of  which 
was  103,  some  60, — some  more  than  70  years  old.  Most  of  them  were 
deficient  as  to  arms  or  ammunition,  and  some  as  to  both.  The  Clerks 
of  the  other  companies  returned  to  the  town  that  the  men  were  gene- 
rally present,  and  generally  equipped,  or  would  be  soon,  and  if  there 
were  any  not  likely  to  be,  their  names  would  be  returned  to  the  town. 
Capt.  Ebenezar  Craft  for  the  troop  in  this  town  returned  an  account 
of  every  one  in  particular,  that  they  were  well  equipped  and  all  pre- 
pared." 

There  happened  to  be  a  few  men  in  town,  who  did  not  make  their 
appearance  on  this  occasion  ;  and  the  Select  Men,  with  two  other  cit- 
izens were,  appointed  a  Committee  "  to  go  to  them  and  take  an  exact 
account  of  their  preparations  as  to  arms  and  ammunitions,"  and  make 
report  at  the  next  meeting.  When  that  report  was  made,  the  town 
passed  the  following  spirited  vote:  "  that  it  is  the  sense  of  this  town, 
that  every  man  in  town  able  to  furnish  himself  with  arms  and  ammuni- 
tion do  forthwith  fix  himself  complete  ;   and  be  it  further  recommend- 

*  The  preacher's  text  is  not  recorded  ;  but  if  he  selected  the  one  most  accordant  with  the 
real  spirit  of  that  occasion,  we  may  conjecture  that  he  took  the  1st  verse  of  the  144th  Psalm  * 
— "  Thou  teachest  my  hands  to  war  and  my  fingers  to  fioht."  It  is  a  fact,  that  very  soon  after 
this  discourse  was  preached,  there  was  an  article  in  the  warrant  for  a  town  meeting,  "To  seo 
if  the  town  will  allow  the  company  of  minute  men,  so  called,  any  consideration  for  their  en- 
couragement to  learn  the  art  of  war.''' 

3 


18  | 

ed  in  the  strongest  terms  to  all  in  town  unprepared  to  defend  our 
just  rights  and  privileges  and  all  that  is  dear  to  us,  in  this  time  of 
great  danger  and  distress,  to  exert  themselves  to  the  utmost  to  be 
prepared  immediately."  A  committee  of  one  from  each  school 
district  was  also  employed  to  obtain  the  signature  of  every  individu- 
al in  town  to  a  written  pledge  "  for  the  strict  observance  of  all  the 
resolves  of  the  Continental  Congress,  in  particular  that  part  called 
the  Association." 

Such  was  the  spirit  which  reigned  in  this  town  at  the  beginning 
of  the  year  1775.  Nor  was  it  for  the  protection  of  their  own  fami- 
lies and  firesides  alone  that  these  energetic  measures  were  adopted. 
Their  views  were  broad.  Their  patriotism  was  comprehensive  and 
impartial,  taking  its  rise  beyond  the  narrow  sphere  of  private  interest, 
and  encircling  the  whole  body  politic.  Many  recorded  facts  might 
be  stated  in  illustration  of  this  remark. 

On  the  29th  of  May,  1775,  the  following  instructions  were  given 
to  the  delegate  whom  they  were  about  sending  to  a  Provincial  Con- 
gress in  Watertown:  "  1.  Respecting  civil  government  (in  case  the 
petition  or  address  to  his  Majesty  should  be  rejected)  we  think  it 
highly  necessary  to  assume  government,  by  and  with  the  advice  of 
our  sister  Colonies,  as  soon  as  may  be.  2.  Respecting  the  demands 
of  the  Grand  Congress,  we  advise  that  the  whole  of  their  expenses 
be  paid  ;  and  as  to  their  wages,  we  think  that  13  shillings  and  6 
pence  per  day  is  too  much,  and  we  advise  our  delegate  to  plead  in 
behalf  of  the  Province,  that  things  may  be  carried  on  with  as  little 
expense  as  possible  in  this  day  of  trouble  and  distress." 

The  citizens  of  Sturbridge  had  already  borrowed  money  on  interest 
to  redeem  the  pledge  which  they  had  given  to  support  the  common 
cause.  They  had  made  great  sacrifices,  and  stood  prepared  to  make 
still  greater.  A  vote  which  was  passed  at  one  town  meeting  to  raise 
.£100  for  the  purpose  of  repairing  roads,  was  promptly  reconsidered 
at  the  next,  because  in  their  judgment  political  oppression  was  worse 
than  bad  roads.  They  had  been  contemplating  the  erection  of  a  new 
Meetinghouse,  but  even  this,  though  greatly  needed,  they  cheerfully 
put  aside,  till  they  should  get  through  the  present  struggle  for  liberty. 
Such  men  had  a  right  to  recommend  economy  in  the  management  of 
public  affairs.  And  if  on  this  point  they  were  even  rigid,  it  was  the 
result  not  of  parsimony,  but  of  -patriotism.  It  was  "  in  behalf  of  the 
Province,"  and  not  of  themselves,  that  they  were  pleading. 

It  is  truly  surprising  to  observe  the  alacrity  with  which  they  conti- 


19 

nued  to  draw  upon  their  scanty  resources  to  meet  their  country's  de- 
mands. The  following  document  which  the  Rev.  Mr.  Paine  sent 
into  the  town  meeting  about  this  time,  may  be  taken  as  a  fair  speci- 
men of  the  general  feeling. 

"To  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Sturbridge. 
"  Gentlemen, 

"  While  you  are  preparing  arms  and  ammunition  to  defend 
our  just  rights  and  privileges,  occasioned  by  the  alarming  tidings 
from  Parliament,  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  engage  in  the  common  cause  of 
liberty,  believing  that  he  is  unjust  to  God  who  can  tamely  submit  to 
tyranny.  I  proposed  [at  a  former  meeting]  to  pay  for  a  barrel  of 
powder,  or  a  cask,  provided  you  would  be  at  the  trouble  of  procur- 
ing it.  But  as  I  understand  you  have  been  unable  so  to  do,  neither 
does  it  appear  to  me  worth  your  while  at  this  time.  Still  I  find 
it  my  duty  to  bear  my  part  in  the  calamities  that  are  common  to  us 
all.  Not  to  rest  in  words,  I  propose  to  make  a  present  to  the  town 
of  =£100  Old  Tenor,  to  be  reducted  out  of  my  next  assessment;  i.  e. 
to  assess  but  =£53  ;  and,  to  oblige,  I  propose,  if  the  town  will  give 
me  security  for  what  then  shall  be  due  in  June,  that  I  will  wait  one 
year  for  it,  and  longer,  unless  mortality  or  something  extraordinary 
shall  prevent." 

One  hundred  pounds  Old  Tenor  was  equal  to  =£13  6s.  Sd.  Lawful 
money,  or  $44,44,  which  was  about  one  fifth  of  Mr.  Paine's  annual 
salary.  This  sum  he  gave  ;  and  then,  "to  oblige,"  waited  four 
years  for  the  remaining  .£53. * 

I  have  said  that  this  generous  sacrifice  of  the  minister,  in  sustain- 
ing his  suffering  country,  may  be  taken  as  a  fair  specimen  of  the 
general  feeling  at  that  time.  And  whoever  will  take  the  trouble  to 
review  the  records  of  this  town  during  that  period,  and  examine 
the  sums   of  money  that   were  raised  for  bounty  to  the  soldiers,  for 

*  So  great  were  the  fluctuations  in  the  currency  at  that  time,  that  during  those  four  years 
money  had  depneciated  in  the  proportion  of  20  to  1  ;  in  other  words,  the  sum  of  £20  in  1779, 
was  worth  no  more  in  procuring  the  necessaries  of  life,  than  £l  was  in  1775.  This  was  the 
report  of  a  Committee  consisting  of  Aaron  Allen,  Ebenezar  Craft,  and  Timothy  Newell,  who 
had  been  appointed  to  make  an  estimate  of  the  amount  which  should  be  paid  to  Mr.  Paint'. 
So  that  the  £53  of  his  salary  which  he  had  permitted  the  town  to  keep  in  their  hands  during 
four  years  of  distress,  had  sunk  to  the  small  value  of  £2  13s.  when  the  time  of  payment  came. 
But  those  noble  minded  men  who  were  themselves  engaged  in  a  struggle  for  justice,  had  too 
keen  a  sense  of  justice  to  think  of  paying  any  thing  less  than  the  value  received.  In  making 
settlement,  therefore,  with  Mr.  Paine,  they  generously  voted  "to  grant  him  money  sufficient 
to  purchase  the  necessary  articles  of  consumption  which  £53  would  in  the  year  1775 ;"  and 
accordingly  paid  £1060  as  an  equivalent  for  the  £53  which  they  had  borrowed. 


20 

ammunition,  arms,  provisions,  and  for  other  military  purposes,  will 
see  that  it  was  indeed,  "  like  priest,  like  people."  Money,  however, 
was  not  the  most  costly  offering  which  they  laid  on  the  altar  of  free- 
dom. I  have  obtained  the  names  of  239  men,  all  from  this  town, 
who  at  different  times  went  out  and  joined  themeslves  to  the  armies 
which  fought  the  battles  of  liberty  during  the  Revolutionary  struggle. 
Among  this  number  there  was  one  Colonel,  one  Major,  eight  Cap- 
tains, eight  Lieutenants,  and  two  Ensigns,  besides  the  Rev.  Joshua 
Paine,  who  officiated  two  months  as  Chaplain  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Sing  Sing,  N.  Y. 

Such  facts  as  these  show  wherein  consisted  that  invincible  strength 
by  which  these  infant  Colonies  were  able  to  resist  the  will  of  Great 
Britain  : — it  consisted  in  the  bones  and  sinetvs  of  their  lion-hearted 
yeomanry.  And  it  will  appear  not  improbable  to  a  reflecting  mind, 
that  the  reason  why  these  revolted  Colonies  did  not  fall  into  the 
hands  of  some  aspiring  Dictator,  as  it  was  confidently  foretold  that 
they  would,  if  they  left  the  Mother  Country,  was  not  so  much  because 
there  was  no  one  here  to  dictate,  as  because  there  were  none  to  be 
dictated. 

This  strong  repellency  to  every  thing  in  the  form  of  dictation,  the 
citizens  of  Sturbridge  discovered,  not  only  in  throwing  off  an  old  form 
of  government,  but  also  in  adopting  a  new  one.  After  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  had  been  published  to  the  world,  and  the  peo- 
ple of  this  town  in  a  special  meeting  for  that  purpose  had  solemnly 
"  engaged  to  support  it  with  their  lives  and  fortunes,"  and  had  actu- 
ally transcribed  it  entire  in  the  book  of  their  town  records,  a  circular 
was  sent  throughout  the  Commonwealth,  the  object  of  which  was  to 
ascertain  whether  the  people  would  consent  that  their  Representatives 
then  in  session  should  frame  and  ratify  such  a  Constitution  and  form 
of  government  for  the  State  as  they  might  judge  best.  When  that 
proposal  came  before  the  citizens  of  Sturbridge  in  public  meeting 
Oct.  14,  1776,  it  passed  in  the  negative  with  but  one  dissenting  voice  ; 
and  a  Committee,  consisting  of  Dea.  Daniel  Fiske,  Dea.  Moses  Weld, 
Col.  Daniel  Plimpton,  Mr.  John  Holbrook,  and  Lieut.  Henry  Fiske, 
were  appointed  to  draw  up  the  reasons  for  this  vote.  The  principal 
one  was  the  following,  which  contains  perhaps  as  much  sound  politi- 
cal truth  as  was  ever  thrown  into  so  small  a  compass,  "  As  the  end 
of  government  is  the  happiness  and  safety  of  the  people,  so  the  sole 
right  and  power  of  forming  and  establishing  a  plan  thereof  is  in  the 
people ;  consequently  we  think   it  unadvisable  and  irrational  to  con- 


21 

sent  that  any  set  of  men  should  form  and  ratify  a  Constitution  of 
government  for  us  before  we  know  what  it  is."  It  was  approved  by 
vote  of  the  town,  and  sent  to  their  representative  for  his  instruction. 

The  result  was  according  to  their  wishes.  The  new  Constitution 
and  form  of  government  having  been  drawn  up  by  a  special  conven- 
tion chosen  for  that  purpose,  came  forth  to  the  people  for  their  sanc- 
tion. And  as  a  further  illustration  of  the  independent  spirit  which 
then  reigned  in  this  town,  and  the  deep,  inquisitorial  scrutiny  which 
plain  men  bestowed  on  the  great  affairs  of  State,  I  beg  leave  to  in- 
sert here  an  extract  from  the  records  of  the  town  meeting  in  which 
the  inhabitants  of  Sturbridge  acted  upon  these  important  documents. 

"  At  a  town  meeting  in  Sturbridge,  May  1st,  1780,  legally  assem- 
bled, the  meeting  being  opened,  Dea.  Moses  Weld  was  chosen  Mode- 
rator. Then  it  was  proposed  and  agreed,  in  acting  upon  the  New 
Constitution  and  Form  of  Government,  that  the  Bill  of  Rights  be 
read  first,  and  then  the  Form  of  Government,  and  last  the  address 
accompanying  the  same  ;  which  was  done  accordingly.  Then  by  a 
vote  of  the  town  the  meeting  was  adjourned  to  Monday  next  week,  at 
12  of  the  clock  on  said  day. — Then  met  according  to  adjournment. 
The  question  was  put,  whether  the  town  approved  of  the  two  first 
articles  in  the  Declaration  of  Rights.  Passed  in  the  affirmative  to  a 
man,  111  voted.  After  some  debate  on  the  3d  article,  the  question 
was  put  by  yeas  and  nays  ;  120  voted — yeas  73,  nays  47.  Then  the 
question  was  put,  whether  the  town  approved  of  all  the  articles  in  the 
Bill  of  Rights  excepting  the  3d.  Passed  in  the  affirmative  to  a  man; 
61  voted.  Then  by  a  vote  of  the  town  the  meeting  was  adjourned  to 
the  22d  instant  at  7  of  the  clock  in  the  morning. — Then  met  accord- 
ing to  adjournment.  Then  put  to  vote,  whether  it  was  the  mind  of 
the  town  to  vote  upon  the  Form  of  Government  together  [i.  e.  as  a 
whole].  Passed  in  the  negative.  Then  the  question,  whether  it  was 
the  mind  of  the  town  to  read  one  chapter  or  section  at  a  time  and 
then  put  it  to  vote  whether  the  town  approved  of  them,  passed  in  the 
affirmative.  Then  the  question  was  put  whether  the  town  approv- 
ed of  the  1st  section  in  the  Form  of  Government.  Yeas  50, 
Nays  8  ;  58  voted. — Section  2d.  The  question  was  put  whether  the 
town  approved  of  that :  50  voted;  all  yeas. — Section  3d.  Question 
put.  Yeas  32,  Nays  15  ;  47  voted.  Chapter  2d,  Section  1st.  Ques- 
tion put  by  dividing  the  house,  whether  the  town  approve  thereof. 
Yeas  14,  Nays  34  ;  48  voted. — Section  2.  Approved  by  all  voting  ; 
59. — Section  3d.    Question  put  by  dividing  the  house.    Yeas  6,  Nays 


22 

36 ;  42  voted. — Section  4th.  Approved  by  all  voting ;  43."  And 
so  on,  through  every  chapter  and  section.  At  the  close  of  this  scru- 
tinizing process,  Henry  Fiske,  Timothy  Parker  and  Joshua  Harding 
were  appointed  a  committee  to  arrange  and  state  the  objections  of 
the  town  to  these  articles,  which  passed  in  the  negative.  Of  these 
objections  it  may  in  general  be  said,  that  they  indicate  a  forecast, 
and  a  maturity  of  political  wisdom  to  which  our  legislators  have 
been  gradually  approximating  ever  since;  for  the  most  important 
changes  which  have  subsequently  been  made  in  our  Constitution  and 
Bill  of  Rights  have  been  in  accordance  with  the  views  here  expressed. 

It  could  not  have  been  expected  that  a  people,  so  accustomed  to 
think  for  themselves  on  whatever  subject  came  before  them,  and  to 
act  according  to  their  own  individual  judgment,  would  be  entirely 
unanimous  in  their  opinions  touching  those  great  changes  in  the  go- 
vernment and  laws  which  were  then  taking  place.  But  it  is  a  re- 
markable fact,  that  when  the  town  had  taken  special  pains  to  have 
the  names  of  such  persons  laid  before  them  as  were  suspected  of 
being  unfriendly  to  the  Revolution,  only  three  could  be  found ! 

On  the  whole  I  think  it  may  safely  be  affirmed,  that  the  town  of 
Sturbridge  was  not  at  all  behind  the  spirit  of  '76  when  that  eventful 
year  arrived.  Perhaps  it  may  be  said,  that  they  were  even  in  advance 
of  it ;  for,  if  we  enquire  into  the  origin  of  that  spirit,  we  shall  find 
that  it  was  just  such  action  as  theirs  which  gave  it  birth.  They  are 
usually  small  streams,  starting  out  from  here  and  there  a  mountain's 
side,  and  combining  their  separate  waters  in  one  channel,  which  make 
the  broad  and  deep  river,  whose  augmenting  force  at  length  spurns  all 
resistance.  Such,  in  fact,  was  the  origin  and  progress  of  those 
mighty  movements  which  resulted  in  American  Independence,  and 
to  which  this  town  contributed  a  rill  of  influence  that  we  can  trace 
up  to  a  point  of  time  more  than  ten  years  back  of  that  result. 

If,  in  sketching  the  history  of  Sturbridge  through  this  illustrious 
period,  I  have  said  but  little  of  other  things  than  those  which  pertain 
to  the  Revolutionary  struggle,  my  apology  is,  that  the  records  of  its 
civil  affairs  show  that  little  else  was  done.  Almost  every  other  sub- 
ject seems  to  have  been  either  laid  aside  entirely,  or  brought  into 
such  intimate  alliance  with  this,  as  not  to  be  capable  of  a  separate 
notice.  And  for  a  long  time  after  the  war  had  terminated,  and  the 
current  of  public  business  had  once  more  found  its  regular  channel, 
there  was  a  spirit  pervading  the  municipal  affairs  of  the  town,  that 
would  convince  even  a  stranger,   that  there  must  have  been  some 


23 

great  and  recent  movement  among  the  people  in  the  military  line. 
The  citizens  had  the  air  of  soldiers,  and  seemed  to  delight  in  trans- 
acting their  civil  affairs,  as  far  as  possible,  in  a  soldier-like  way.  For 
example  ;  the  subject  of  fencing  the  burying  ground  came  into  town 
meeting  May  12,  1794,  and  a  Committee  was  chosen  to  report  in 
what  manner  it  should  be  done.  Their  report  was  as  follows,  viz. : 
"  That  it  be  done  by  a  free  donation  ;  that  the  commissioned  officers 
of  each  company  of  militia  in  this  town  be  a  Committee  to  inspect 
and  see  to  the  work  ;  that  they  give  notice  to  all  persons  within 
the  limits  of  their  respective  companies  to  attend  with  teams  and 
tools  sufficient  to  wall  said  ground  on  the  16th,  17th  and  18th  days 
of  June  next.  The  town  adopted  this  report  unanimously,  and  then 
voted,  "  that  Capt.  Samuel  Hooker  come  on  with  his  company  on 
Monday  the  16th,  Capt.  Corey  with  his  Company  on  Tuesday  the 
17th,  and  Capt.  Marcy  with  his  Company  on  Wednesday  the  18th 
of  June  next." 

The  town  of  Sturbridge  at  this  time  contained  a  population  of 
about  1800  souls,  scattered  over  a  surface  of  more  than  56  square 
miles.  By  actual  survey  there  were  28,929  acres  of  land  within  its 
limits  ;  and  the  people,  being  chiefly  agriculturalists,  had  distributed 
themselves  pretty  evenly  over  the  whole  of  this  wide  territory.  What- 
ever spot,  therefore,  they  might  select  as  a  common  centre  for  pub- 
lic worship  and  town-meetings,  it  must,  of  necessity,  be  at  an  incon- 
venient distance  from  many  of  the  inhabitants.  This  circumstance, 
as  the  population  increased,  would  naturally  suggest  the  idea  of  a 
division,  especially  if  any  fit  occasion  should  offer.  Accordingly  in 
the  year  1783,  when  a  new  Meetinghouse  was  being  erected,  an  at- 
tempt was  made  by  some  who  were  not  satisfied  with  its'  location,  to 
divide  the  town  into  "  three  Districts,  or  Precincts;"  which,  however, 
was  voted  down  "by  a  great  majority."  The  next  year  a  petition 
signed  by  Dea.  Moses  Weld  and  others  residing  in  the  North  Eastern 
part  of  the  town,  praying  for  leave  to  be  set  off  from  Sturbridge  for 
the  purpose  of  forming  a  new  town  with  a  part  of  Brookfield,  Spen- 
cer and  Charlton,  was  at  first  granted  without  much  discussion,  but 
was  afterwards  reconsidered  and  refused. 

No  farther  attempt  was  made  to  divide  the  town,  or  in  any  way  to 
disturb  its  original  boundaries,  till  1796,  when  Joshua  Harding  Jr. 
and  others  inhabiting  the  South  Eastern  section  made  request  to  be 
erected  into  a  separate  town  with  a  part  of  Charlton  and  Dudley. 
Their  petition  was  referred  to  a  special  Committee,  with  the  expecta- 


24 

tion  that  they  would  report  at  a  subsequent  meeting.  But  when  the 
article  in  the  warrant  was  read,  "  to  see  if  the  town  will  hear  the 
Report  of  their  Committee,"  &,c.  it  was  "  voted  that  this  article  sub- 
side"; and  it  does  not  appear  that  it  ever  rose  again.  The  feelings, 
however,  of  the  petitioners  could  not  be  so  easily  put  in  a  quiescent 
state.  They  entered  immediately  into  arrangements  for  building  a 
Meetinghouse  in  that  part  of  the  town,  and  petitioned  the  General 
Court  that  they  might  be  incorporated  as  a  Poll  Parish  ;  which  was 
granted  in  1801.  The  number  of  the  names  enrolled  in  this  Act  was 
ninety.  These  ninety  persons,  together  with  their  families  and  es- 
tates, though  not  separated  from  the  surrounding  world  by  any  geo- 
graphical lines,  nevertheless  formed  a  distinct  community,  which  was 
known  for  many  years  by  the  name  of  Honcst-toivn* 

On  the  25th  of  November,  181 1,  by  request  of  several  of  their  num- 
ber a  special  meeting  was  called  by  the  parish  assessors,  "  to  see  if 
the  said  parish  will  petition  the  next  General  Court  to  be  set  off  from 
the  several  towns  of  which  they  are  composed,  to  be  a  town  by  them- 
selves, by  the  name  of ."     The  proposal   was  approved   by  the 

parish,  and  a  committee  was  chosen  "  to  take  charge  of  a  petition  to 
be  sent  to  the  General  Court."  That  petition  was  destined  to  en- 
counter no  small  opposition  from  the  several  towns  concerned,  but 
especially  from  Sturbridge,  to  which  by  far  the  largest  part  of  the 
petitioners  belonged.  The  consequence  was,  a  refusal  of  their  prayer 
by  the  General  Court.  The  attempt  was  renewed  at  the  next  ses- 
sion of  the  legislature,  but  with  no  better  success.  Not  discouraged 
by  repeated  failures,  though  having  just  cause  for  impatience  at  the 

+  In  a  manuscript  lecture  delivered  before  the  Southbridge  Lyceum  in  1836  by  Moses 
Plimpton.  Esq.  of  that  town,  and  which  has  been  kindly  placed  in  my  hands  by  its  obliging 
author,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  many  important  facts  in  this  part,  of  the  sketch,  I  find  the 
following  pleasant  remarks  on  the  origin  and  application  of  this  name. — "It  may  have  been 
attached  to  us  by  some  one  in  the  older  towns  from  which  we  had  separated,  in  a  moment  of 
resentment  at  our  obstinacy  in  not  being  satisfied  to  go  seven  miles  to  meeting  ;  it  may  have 
come  from  some  wag,  or  bar-room  joker,  over  his  mug  of  flip ;  or  possibly  from  some  one  of 
our  own  really  honest  inhabitants,  who  firmly  believed  that  there  was  more  true,  genuine  ho- 
nesty here,  than  in  any  other  place  in  this  part  of  the  country.  Be  all  these  things  as  they 
may,  it  is  certain  that  this  place,  now  Southbridge,  for  twenty  years  or  more  before  we  be- 
came a  town,  was  known,  far  and  near,  by  the  name  of  Honest-town ;  and  whether  the  term 
was  applied  ironically,  or  in  "  sober  earnest"-,  whether  the  character  of  our  inhabitants  for 
fair  dealing  between  man  and  man  rose  above,  or  fell  below  the  common  standard,  the  truth 
would  probably  require  us  to  admit,  that,  from  "local  situation" — to  use  the  charitable  expres- 
sion of  the  amiable  author  of  the  report  to  which  I  have  alluded — or  from  some  other  cause, 
there  was  a  general  want  of  stability,  a  kind  of  freedom  from  wholesome  restraint,  which  was 
by  no  means  favorable  to  the  caivse  of  good  morals,  virtue  and  religion." 


25 

many  embarrassments  that  were  thrown  in  their  way,  they  drafted  a 
new  petition  in  1814,  and  sent  another  agent  with  instructions  "  to 
act  and  transact  any  thing  and  every  thing  necessary  and  relative  to- 
wards carrying  into  effect  the  prayer  of  said  petition,  in  his  power" 
But  all  was  to  no  purpose ;  the  prayer  was  still  rejected.  By  conti- 
nued importunity,  however,  the  legislature  were,  at  length,  induced 
to  send  out  an  Examining  Committee,  whose  Report  was  decidedly 
favorable  to  the  petitioners  ;  and  on  the  15th  of  February  18 1G, 
there  was  passed  "  An  Act  to  incorporate  the  town  of  Soutlibridge." 

The  whole  number  of  ratable  polls  in  Sturbridge,  at  the  time  of  this 
separation,  was  476,  and  the  whole  valuation  of  property  $325,233; 
of  which,  151  ratable  polls,  and  $83,783  of  its  valuation,  were  set  off 
to  the  new  town; — that  is,  a  little  less  than  one  third  of  the  polls, 
and  a  little  more  than  one  fourth  of  the  property,  fell  within  the  limits 
of  Southbridge. 

Nothing  has  occurred  in  the  secular  affairs  of  the  town,  since  that 
event,  of  sufficient  importance  to  deserve  a  detailed  account  in  this 
brief  sketch.  With  a  diminished  territory  it  has  steadily  advanced  in 
population  and  wealth,  till  it  has  risen  to  a  rank  considerably  higher 
than  it  held  before  Southbridge  was  taken  from  it;  while  the  increase 
of  that  town  has  been  in  a  ratio,  still  greater,  and  promises  at  no 
distant  day  to  surpass  either  of  the  towns  from  which  it  was  taken. 
The  population  of  Sturbridge,  as  given  in  the  census  of  1837,  was 
2004.  Its  valuation  at  the  same  time  was  $461,700.  Its  principal 
source  of  income  has  been  its  soil — that  same  rough  and  rocky  soil, 
which  the  General  Court,  an  hundred  years  ago,  judged  unworthy  of 
sale  and  hardly  fit  to  give  away,  as  being  "  not  capable  of  making  a 
township!"  The  result  has  shown,  that  the  first  settlers  of  this  town 
in  placing  their  chief  reliance  on  "the  blessing  of  God,  in  concur- 
rence with  diligence  and  industry,"  rested  on  a  firm  basis. 

Next  in  importance  to  the  agricultural  interests  of  Sturbridge,  are 
its  manufactories.  The  duinebaug  river,  which  passes  through  the 
centre  of  the  town,  furnishes  many  excellent  water  privileges.  Three 
of  these  are  alreadj  occupied  with  Cotton  Mills,  which  run  about 
10,900  spindles  and  300  looms,  consuming  annually  315,416  pounds 
of  Cotton,  and  manufacturing  1,882,500  yards  of  cloth,  valued  at 
$170,325.  The  number  of  persons  employed  in  these  three  mills  is 
244.  On  the  same  river  and  its  tributaries,  there  are  also  3  Batting 
Mills,  1  Pistol  Manufactory,  3  Grist-Mills,  and  9  Saw-Mills.  If  we 
4 


26 

follow  this  stream  into  Southbridge  till  we  come  to  the  original  boun- 
dary of  Sturbridge  on  the  East,  we  shall  find  one  large  Woolen,  and 
two  Cotton  Mills,  besides  several  other  smaller  works,  all  propelled  by 
the  same  waters.  In  the  Woolen  Mill  alone,  there  are  10  sets  of 
machinery,  300,000  pounds  of  wool  consumed  annually,  and  125,000 
yards  of  cloth  manufactured,  valued  at  $375,000,  and  about  250 
persons  employed. 

The  present  number  of  public  schools  in  Sturbridge  is  13 ;  and 
the  last  returns  that  were  made  to  the  legislature  showed  the  whole 
number  of  scholars  to  be,  560  in  the  winter,  and  429  in  the  summer. 
The  same  year  8950  were  raised  by  taxes  for  the  support  of  these 
schools,  to  which  were  added  $200  by  voluntary  contribution,  and 
$90  to  sustain  a  Select  school  of  30  scholars  three  months — amount- 
ing in  all  to  $1200.  Probably  this  sum  is  about  the  average  of  what 
is  expended  in  the  town  from  year  to  year  for  the  instruction  of  the 
young. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY. 


It  will  be  recollected  by  those  who  have  perused  the  foregoing 
sketch,  that  one  of  the  conditions  on  which  this  tract  of  land  was 
granted  to  its  original  proprietors  was,  that  within  seven  years  from 
the  time  of  the  grant,  they  should  "  settle  an  orthodox  minister,  and 
lay  out  to  him  an  home  lot,  equal  to  the  other  home  lots ;  which  lot," 
it  was  also  added,  "  shall  draw  the  fiftieth  part  of  the  Province  land 
now  granted,  and  be  accounted  as  one  of  the  fifty  that  are  to  be  set- 
tled." 

None  of  the  conditions  which  the  General  Court  imposed  were 
more  cheerfully  acceded  to,  or  more  promptly  fulfilled.  The  compa- 
ny would  have  been  far  enough  within  the  provisions  of  the  Act  to 
avoid  the  danger  of  any  forfeiture,  if  they  had  saved  themselves  this 
expense  till  the  last  part  of  the  seventh  year.  And  in  their  circum- 
stances, if  in  any,  there  would  have,  been  some  show  of  reason  for 
adopting  such  a  course.  They  were  few  in  number,  and  feeble  in 
means.  Their  present  expenditures  were  large,  while  their  income 
as.  yet  consisted  of  little  besides  hope.  But  they  seem  to  have  been 
men  who  really  believed  that  "  godliness  is  profitable  unto  all  things," 
even  to  the  clearing  of  a  forest,  and  the  planting  of  a  township ;  for 
at  the  proprietors'  second  meeting,  which  was  less  than  a  year  from 
the  date  of  the  grant,  and  which  was  called  for  the  purpose  of  draw- 
ing their  respective  lots  of  land, — even  before  that  important  busi- 
ness was  despatched,  they  discussed  the  question  of  building  a  Meet- 
inghouse, and  agreed  upon  a  spot  for  its  location. 

There  was  a  tract  of  land  within  their  limits,  known  by  the  name 
of  "  Gen.  SaltenstalPs  Farm,"  though  it  appears  to  have  been  a  forest, 
like  the  rest  of  the  township,  and  was  then  in  possession  of  heirs 
who  lived  at  New-London,  Ct.  The  spot  which  seemed  to  them 
most  convenient  for  a  Church  was  on  this  tract  of  land,  "  near  the 
meeting  of  the  roads,  on  the  West  Side  of  Sugar  Brook ;"  i.  e.  a 
few  rods    South  of   the  present  Congregational    place  of   worship. 


28 

Measures  were  immediately  taken  to  secure  this  spot,  and  a  committee 
was  appointed  to  open  a  negociation  with  the  heirs  of  Gen.  Saltenstall. 

When  it  is  considered,  that  this  subject  came  before  that  meeting, 
and  was  thus  disposed  of  while  they  had  not  yet  drawn  their  home 
lots,  and  as  the  next  business  after  they  had  voted  to  pay  £4t  a-piece 
to  defray  the  expense  of  laying  them  out,  it  will  certainly  appear,  that 
the  fathers  of  this  town  still  retained  the  genuine  spirit  of  the  Pil- 
grims. 

Their  negociation  for  a  spot  on  which  to  place  the  house  was  soon 
brought  to  a  successful  termination,  and  arrangements  for  building 
were  promptly  commenced,  as  appears  from  the  following  votes, 
which  were  passed  at  the  proprietors'  third  meeting,  Nov.  30,  1731, 
viz. 

"  Voted,  that  Mr.  Jonas  Houghton  shall  have  £8  14s.  2d.  for  his 
service  in  going  to  New-London  and  procuring  a  deed  of  the  heirs 
of  Gen.  Saltenstall,  and  the  charge  of  recording  in  the  County  Re- 
cords. 

"  Voted,  that  the  proprietors  will  build  a  Meetinghouse  as  soon  as 
conveniently  they  can. 

"  Voted,  that  the  Meetinghouse  shall  be  50  feet  in  length,  and  40 
feet  in  width,  and  22  feet  between  the  sills  and  plates. 

"  Voted,  to  finish  the  said  house  according  to  the  articles  drawn  to 
finish  the  Meetinghouse  at  Hassanamisco,  (now  Grafton.) 

"  Voted,  to  have  the  house  built,  covered,  and  enclosed  in  the 
space  of  one  year  from  this  time,  and  finished  in  the  space  of  two 
years,  according  to  the  above  said  vote. 

"  Voted,  to  choose  three  men  to  be  a  Committee  to  manage  the 
affair  of  building  the  said  house  ;  and  by  vote,  John  Dwight,  Jonas 
Houghton,  and  Joseph  Plimpton  were  chosen  to  be  a  Committee  for 
carrying  on  of  the  said  work  of  building  the  Meetinghouse." 

At  the  same  meeting  the  proprietors  made  a  grant  of  £525  towards 
the  erection  of  the  house,  which  was  the  total  sum  of  their  receipts 
hitherto  for  the  sale  of  lands.  They  afterwards  added  .£20  "  for  the 
completing  and  finishing  the  Meetinghouse."  It  was  dedicated  to 
the  worship  of  God  on  the  19th  of  Sept.  1773,  more  than  four  years 
before  the  town  was  incorporated.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Baxter  of  Medfield 
preached  the  dedicatory  sermon  from  Is.  63  :  5,  "I  looked  and  there 
was  none  to  help  ;  and  I  wondered  that  there  was  none  to  uphold  : 
therefore  mine  own  arm  brought  salvation  unto  me ;  and  my  fury  it 
upheld  me." 


29 

But  let  it  not  be  inferred  that  there  was  no  public  worship  here  till 
after  the  Meetinghouse  was  opened.  It  is  said  that  even  .during  the 
first  season,  James  Denison  from  the  South  Eastern  section  of  the 
town,  and  Joseph  Smith  from  the  North  Western,  Henry  and  Daniel 
Fiske  from  Fiske  Hill,  together  with  several  others  who  had  commenc- 
ed "  a  clearing"  in  different  parts  of  the  township,  as  soon  as  they  be- 
came acquainted  with  each  other's  place  of  residence,  were  accus- 
tomed to  meet  in  the  little  cabin  of  one  or  the  other,  every  Lord's 
Day,  and  spend  their  time  in  prayer  and  praise. 

No  sooner  had  the  company  finished  their  Sanctuary  than  they 
took  measures  to  secure  a  suitable  person  to  minister  therein. 
There  was  an  article  in  the  warrant  for  a  proprietors'  meeting,  June 
24,  1734,  touching  this  subject.  In  their  action  upon  it  they  "  voted, 
that  there  shall  be  15  shillings  levied,  raised  and  collected  upon  each 
right  of  the  proprietors,  (the  minister's  right  exempted)  to  promote 
preaching."  The  Rev.  Mr.  Cowell  was  employed  as  their  first  preach- 
er. At  their  meeting  in  November  following,  a  tax  of  40  shillings 
was  levied  "  to  promote  preaching  for  the  year  ensuing  ;"  which,  ac- 
cording to  the  Committee's  report  at  the  end  of  the  year,  amounted  to 
£9o  10s.  The  next  year  they  expended  o£103  lis.  Qd.  for  the  same 
purpose. 

The  first  Monday  in  March  1736  was,  by  vote  of  the  proprietors, 
"  set  apart  for  prayer  and  fasting  to  seek  direction  for  the  making 
choice  of  a  gospel  minister  to  settle"  among  them.  The  pastors  of 
four  neighboring  churches  were  invited  to  assist  in  the  solemnities 
of  that  occasion.  The  result  was  a  unanimous  choice  of  the  Rev. 
Caleb  Rice  to  become  their  minister. 

It  must  occur  to  every  reflecting  mind,  that  in  respect  to  this 
subject,  viz.  the  choice  of  a  pastor,  customs  have  greatly  changed 
"  since  the  fathers  fell  asleep  ;" — and  that  too,  not  for  the  better, 
either  to  pastors  or  people,  but  decidedly  for  the  worse,  to  both. 
What  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  would  not  consider  himself  more 
strongly  bound  to  live,  and  labor,  and  die,  among  a  people  who  had 
thus  deliberately  and  solemnly  chosen  him  for  that  purpose  1  And 
what  people  would  not  pause  and  ask  counsel  of  God,  before  they 
broke  asunder  the  bond  which  united  them  to  a  pastor  whom  they 
had  thus  piously  sought  of  Him  ? 

Mr.  Rice  was  ordained  to  the  work  of  the  ministry  on  Wednesday 
the  29th  of  Sept.  1736,  at  which  time  a  Church  was  also  organized, 
consisting  of  fourteen  male  members,  viz. 


30 

Rev.  Caleb  Rice  George  Watkins 

Henry  Fiske  Solomon  Rood 

Ezekiel  Upham  Daniel  Fiske 

Joseph  Baker  Jonathan  Perry 

Joseph  Cheney  Jonathan  Fosket 

Ebenezar  Stearns  Moses  Allen 

Joseph  Allen  Daniel  Thurston. 

The  office  of  Deacon  was  conferred  on  Daniel  Fiske  and  Ebenezar 
Stearns ;  and  Moses  Allen  was  appointed  to  "  set  the  Psalm  in  the 
Congregation  upon  the  Sabbath  day.'-'* 

*  There  is  reason  to  think  that  Church-Music  was  conducted  by  our  fathers  and  mothers 
with  more  "  spirit,"  and  less  "  understanding,"  than  it  is  by  us.  The  chorister,  who  was  al- 
ways appointed  to  that  office  by  the  suffrages  of  the  Church,  having  "  set  the  Psalm,"  any 
of  the  worshippers,  whose  natural  gifts  would  enable  them  to  do  it,  were  accustomed  to  sing 
the  praises  of  God — sitting  or  standing  promiscuously  about  in  the  assembly.  The  singers 
in  this  town  first  came  into  the  practice  of  sitting  by  themselves  in  1768.  A  petition  was 
brought  into  town  meeting  that  year,  signed  by  "sundry  of  the  inhabitants,  requesting  that  they 
may  have  the  liberty  of  taking  their  seats  in  the"  Meetinghouse  in  the  front  gallery,  or  where- 
ever  the  town  shall  think  proper,  in  order  to  carry  on  the  duty  of  singing  with  more  regularity, 
decency,  and  good  order."  The  town  gave  them  leave  to  do  so  till  the  next  May  meeting,  which 
was  about  two  months  distant ;  and  then  voted  that  the  same  liberty  "  be  continued  to  them 
during  the  town's  pleasure."  Soon  after  this  they  did  still  more  for  the  encouragement  of 
"  regularity,  decency,  and  good  order"  in  the  performance  of  this  "duty;" — they  voted  the 
sum  of  "  £3  Lawful  Money  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  a  singing  school,  to  be  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Selectmen."  The  new  method  of  singing  by  rule,  however,  and  especially  the 
new  tunes  which  were  introduced,  created  no  small  stir  in  the  Congregation,  and  the  Church 
appointed  a  Committee  of  three  to  investigate  the  unhappy  differences  between  the  singers 
and  the  people,  and  propose  some  method  of  accommodation.  Their  report,  which  was 
read  from  the  desk  on  the  Sabbath,  is  still  preserved  among  the  papers  of  the  Church.  It  sets 
forth  three  grievances  on  the  part  of  the  singers.  They  complained,  1.  That  they  were  "  not 
properly  encouraged,  so  many  being  opposed  to  singing  by  rule,  and  some  people  leaving  the 
Meetinghouse."  2.  "  Their  persons  and  characters  being  injuriously  treated."  3.  "  Their  not 
having  liberty  to  sing  once  a-day  without  reading  line  by  line."  With  a  view  to  obviate  these 
difficulties  and  restore  peace  between  the  singers  and  the  Congregation,  the  Committee  gave 
the  following  advice,  viz. — In  respect  to  the  first  complaint,  they  advised  the  disaffected  among 
the  people  «  to  read  the  preface  to  Mr.  Walter's  Singing-Book,"  and  consider  "  whether  or 
no  it  is  even  possible  that  a  Congregation  should  join  together  in  singing,  and  carry  it  on  in 
order,  no  one  knowing  any  rule,  and  so  none  observing  any."  Respecting  the  second,  they  re- 
commended "a  solemn  regard  to  that  golden  rule  of  doing  to  others  as  they  would  have  others 
do  to  them."  Touching  the  third  complaint,  after  conceding  to  both  parties  "  the  right 
of  private  judgment,"  the  Committee  add,  for  the  consolation  of  the  singers,  "  nothing  is  more 
common  than  opposition  and  discouragement  in  a  good  work."  The  report  concludes  with 
some  sensible  remarks  to  the  choir,  a  general  exhortation  "  to  seek  after  the  things  which 
make  for  peace,  and  whereby  one  may  edify  another,"  and  a  proposal  "  that  Psalms  be  sung 
once  on  the  Sabbath  days  at  the  concluding  of  divine  service,  by  reading  one  verse,  or  half 
stave  at  once,  for  the  space  of  four  months  next."  The  old  way  of  conducting  Church  Music 
probably  went  out  of  use  at  the  expiration  of  these  four  months.  And  the  numerous  votes 
to  raise  money  for  instruction  in  singing,  which  are  scattered  along  throughout  the  town  re- 
cords from  that  time  to  this,  furnish  gratifying  proof  that  this  community  have  known  how 
;o  appreciate  so  important  a  part  of  divine  worship. 


31 

The  pecuniary  support  which  Mr.  Rice  received  from  his  people 
was  truly  liberal  for  that  day,  or  indeed  for  any  other,  and  shows 
that  the  fathers  of  this  town  well  understood  the  arrangement,  which 
an  Apostle  says  "the  Lord  hath  ordained;"  viz.  "that  they  which 
preach  the  gospel  should  live  of  the  gospel" — an  arrangement  which 
has  never  been  overlooked  by  their  descendants.  In  addition  to  the 
several  allotments  of  land,  laid  out  and  reserved  for  the  minister 
according  to  the  conditions  of  the  grant,  amounting  in  all  to  one 
fiftieth  part  of  the  whole  toicnship,  "to  be  his,  his  heirs,  and 
assigns,"  they  voted  as  follows  : — "  £200  in  Bills  of  Credit  for  settle- 
ment and  encouragement,  to  be  paid  him,  viz.  £100  by  the  first  day 
of  May  1737,  and  £100  by  the  first  day  of  May  1738."  Also, 
"£110  in  Bills  of  Credit  Annually  for  his  salary,  at  the  value  of  25 
shillings  an  ounce  in  silver  money  :  And  at  the  expiration  of  three 
years  after  the  said  Mr.  Rice's  ordination,  to  add  £10  to  his  salary, 
so  as  to  make  it  £120,  according  to  the  aforesaid  value  of  money 
annually." 

In  his  answer  to  their  call,  speaking  of  the  proposed  settlement 
and  salary,  he  says,  "I  esteem  it  to  be  handsome  and  generous,  and 
accordingly  do  now  accept  it  as  such  ;  yet,  not  being  so  thoroughly 
acquainted  with  the  charge  and  expenses  of  living,  if  in  process  of 
time  my  circumstances  should  require  and  call  for  more,  I  should 
depend  and  rely  upon  it,  that,  as  I  give  myself  wholly  to  the  work  of 
the  ministry,  so  I  should  receive  a  decent  and  handsome  support ;" 
— to  which  the  people  readily  assented.  In  conclusion  he  added  a 
suggestion  touching  his  "  fire-wood,"  which  they  were  pleased  to  call 
"  a  reasonable  proposal  ;"  and  immediately  voted  to  procure  him 
"  such  a  quantity  of  fire-wood  annually  as  shall  be  thought  a  necessary 
and  convenient  supply."  In  pursuance  of  this  vote  they  began  with 
forty  cords  a  year,  and  paid  a  man  £12  for  bringing  it.  But  soon 
finding  that  this  quantity  was  not  "  a  necessary  and  convenient  sup- 
ply, they  made  it  forty-five,  and  shortly  after  raised  it  to  fifty  cords 
a  year,  "  to  be  delivered  at  Mr.  Rice's  door  of  suitable  length  for 
the  fire."* 

*  If  we  estimate  silver  at  a  dollar  an  ounce,  which  is  a  trifle  below  its  real  value,  it  will  b« 
found  that  the  support  granted  to  the  first  minister  in  Sturbridge  was  a  settlement  of  $160, 
a  salary  of  $96,  and  50  cords  of  wood  annually,  besides  ufarm  of  about  500  acres.  The  mo- 
ney, at  first  sight,  appears  to  be  an  inconsiderable  sum  ;  but  it  should  be  remembered  that 
corn  was  ninepence  per  bushel  and  labor  14  cents  per  day  ;  so  that  a  dollar  at  that  time  would 
go  as  far  in  procuring  the  necessaries  of  life  zsjive  or  six  dollars  will  now  ;  and  even  farther, 
if  the  prices  of  other  things,  as  is  usually  the  case,  corresponded  with  the  prices  of  these* 


32 

It  were  rational  to  suppose  that  a  generation  which  had  shown 
such  remarkable  promptness  and  liberality  in  providing  the  means 
of  religious  instruction,  would  not  "  forsake  the  assembling  of 
themselves  together,  as  the  manner  of  some  is."  The  only  sources  of 
information  that  are  open  to  us,  touching  this  subject,  are  the  recollec- 
tions of  the  aged,  and  such  oral  traditions  as  have  come  down  from 
their  fathers.  From  both  these  sources  we  have  the  most  decisive 
evidence,  that  the  early  inhabitants  of  this  town  were  emphatically  a 
"  Church-going  people." 

It  is  supposed,  that  during  the  first  fifteen  or  twenty  years  from 
the  beginning  of  its  settlement,  there  was  not  an  individual  in  town, 
of  suitable  age,  who  did  not  regularly  attend  on  public  worship,  when 
circumstances  would  allow  ;  and  oftentimes  when  we  should  think 
they  were  absolutely  forbidding.  For  example,  those  who  lived  six 
or  seven  miles  from  the  Sanctuary,  as  many  did  before  the  South 
Eastern  part  of  the  town  was  formed  into  a  separate  parish,  found  in 
that  distance  no  sufficient  reason  for  staying  at  home,  although  they 
must  travel  all  the  way  on  foot,  fording  the  duinebaug  or  crossing 
it  on  a  fallen  tree  in  the  summer,  and  on  the  ice  in  the. winter. 
When  the  snows  were  deep,  the  inhabitants  of  a  neighborhood  would 
sometimes  all  assemble  in  one  place  and  set  off  to  church  in  a  com- 
pany, the  men  leading  the  way  in  single  file  and  thus  breaking  a  path 
for  the  women  and  children.  These  appear  to  have  been  the  pre- 
vailing habits  of  the  people  till  the  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary 
war.  The  consequence  was,  that  the  little  Sanctuary  which  they  had 
erected  40  feet  by  50,  became  crowded  with  worshippers  as  soon  as 
the  population  of  the  town  was  sufficiently  numerous  to  crowd 
it ;  nd  the  business  of  providing  accommodations  in  the  house 
of  God  engrossed  no  small  share  of  public  attention  in  many  a  town 
meeting. 

The  following  transaction,  while  it  illustrates  the  foregoing  views, 
is  instructive  in  several  other  respects. — It  appears  that  the  house  of 
worship  at  first  had  no  pews,  but  was  fitted  up  with  temporary  seats, 
each  worshipper  being  at  liberty  to  sit,  or  stand,  wherever  he  could  find 
a  convenient  place.  At  length  there  was  inserted  in  the  warrant  for  a 
town  meeting  to  be  holden  Oct.  14,  1741,  the  following  article,  viz. 
<l  To  see  whether  the  town  will  lot  out  the  room  in  the  Meetinghouse 
under  the  galleries,  and  come  into  some  measures  to  do  and  accom- 
plish the  same," — an  article  which  would  be  utterly  unintelligible  to 
us,  were  it  not  for  the  record  of  what  was  done  with  it.     From  that 


33 

record  it  seems,  that  "  to  lot  out  the  room"  was  neither  more  nor  less 
than  to  divide  it  into  squares  of  convenient  size  for  pews.  The  town 
readily  came  into  the  measure,  and  voted  that  these  several  lots, 
should  be  assigned  to  as  many  heads  of  families  :  that  whoever  re- 
ceived a  lot  should  have  the  privilege  of  building  a  pew  thereon,  and 
of  occupying  it  with  his  family  during  the  time  of  his  natural  life; 
that  if  he  left  a  widow  she  should  enjoy  the  same  privilege  ;  and  that 
on  her  decease  the  pew  should  revert  to  the  town,  the  town  paying 
the  original  cost  of  building  it.  The  business  of  making  the  as- 
signment was  committed  to  three  men  with  the  following  instruc- 
tions  ; — "  to  have  due  regard  to  age  ;  to  the  first  beginning  in  town ; 
to  their  bearing  charges  in  town,  and  to  their  usefulness ;  and  to  dis- 
pose of  the  room  for  pews  to  such  persons  as  they  shall  think  fit." 
The  committee  to  whom  was  intrusted  this  delicate  business — no  less 
delicate  than  to  make  out  a  scale  of  merit  for  the  town — were  Daniel 
Fiske,  Moses  Marcy,  and  Isaac  Newell.  At  the  next  March  meeting 
they  made  their  report,  stating  that  they  had  "  planned,  divided,  and 
numbered  said  room  into  18  parts  for  IS  pews,"  &-c.  But  the  most  mate- 
rial circumstance  in  their  report  is  the  following; — "  We,  the  said  Com- 
mittee, met  on  the  9th  day  of  February,  1742,  and  did  agree,  that,  ac- 
cording to  the  instructions  given  us  by  the  town,  the  following  per- 
sons ought  to  have  the  several  pew-spots,  and  the  liberty  of  pitching 
in  the  following  order,  viz.  Moses  Marcy  the  1st  choice, — Henry 
Fiske  the  2d, — Dea.  Isaac  Newell  the  3d, — James  Denison  the  4th, 
— Roland  Taylor  the  5th, — Daniel  Fiske  the  6th, — Joseph  Baker  the 
7th, — Joseph  Cheney  the  8th, — David  Shumway  the  9th, — David 
Morse  the  10th, — Moses  Allen  the  11th, — Joseph  Allen  the  12th, — 
Joseph  Smith  the  13th, — Hinsdale  Clark  the  14th, — Ezekiel  Upham 
the  15th, — John  Harding  the  16th, — Caleb  Harding  the  17th, — Ed- 
ward Foster  the  18th."  This  report  was  accepted  by  the  town  and 
ordered  to  be  put  on  record. 

From  this  transaction  I  think  we  may  learn, — I.  The  high  estima- 
tion in  which  public  worship  was  held  at  that  time, — 2.  The  compa- 
rative standing  of  at  least  eighteen  of  the  principal  inhabitants, — 3. 
The  quiet  spirit  which  then  prevailed  throughout  the  community,  no 
one  uttering  a  word  of  complaint  at  this  assignment.  It  is  impossi- 
ble to  conjecture  what  would  be  the  fate  of  such  a  report,  on  such  a 
subject,  at  the  present  day. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Rice  closed  his  ministry  and  his  life  together  on 
Lord's  Day,  Sept.  2d,  1759,  in  the  47th  year  of  his  age.  He  was  a 
5 


34 

native  of  Hingham,  was  graduated  at  Harvard  University,  and  was 
Pastor  of  the  Church  in  Sturbridge  23  years.  In  Whitney's  History 
of  Worcester  County  his  character  is  thus  briefly  sketched  :  "He 
was  a  pastor  after  God's  heart ;  sound  in  faith  ;  a  good  preacher,  en- 
dued with  excellent  ministerial  gifts,  and  very  exemplary  in  life,  as 
well  as  social  and  benevolent  in  his  deportment."  He  seems  to 
have  retained  a  strong  hold  on  the  affections  of  his  people.  Five 
times  they  increased  the  nominal  amount  of  his  salary,  that,  they  might 
keep  it  equal  to  the  real  amount  on  which  he  was  settled,  graduating 
it  by  tire  prices  of  agricultural  produce  ;  and  at  his  death  they  voted 
£8  Lawful  Money,  or  nearly  $27,  to  defray  the  expense  of  his  fune- 
ral. The  number  gathered  into  the  Church  during  his  ministry, 
including  the  fourteen  with  which  it  was  organized,  was  114.  Fif- 
teen of  these,  however,  near  the  close  of  his  ministry,  separated  from 
what  was  called  the  "  standing  order,"  and  established  a  meeting  by 
themselves.  The  circumstances  of  this  affair  deserve  some  notice, 
not  only  as  properly  belonging  to  the  Ecclesiastical  history  of  that 
period,  but  also  as  standing  related  to  important  events  of  subsequent 
occurrence. 

The  original  cause  of  this  separation,  (which  took  place  in  the 
year  1747,)  was  a  religious  awakening  that  prevailed  in  many  other 
places  at  that  time,  the  subjects  of  which  were  generally  known  by 
the  name  of  Nciv  Lights.  In  this  town  they  were  called  Separates, 
or  Separatists,  and  had  for  their  minister  Mr.  John  Blunt,  who  was 
afterwards  killed  in  the  French  war,  at  the  battle  of  Lake  George. 
They  erected  a  small  house  of  worship  which  stood  within  the  pre- 
sent limits  of  Southbridge,  not  far  from  the  Globe  village.  As  was 
very  natural,  they  felt  that  it  was  enough  for  them  to  maintain  their 
own  minister,  and  therefore  refused  to  be  taxed  for  the  support  of  any 
other.  But  not  being  incorporated  into  a  separate  Society,  the  civil 
law  of  that  day  refused  to  release  them,  and  this  brought  the  affair  to 
a  most  unhappy  issue. 

In  the  warrant  for  a  town  meeting  May  22d,  1749,  was  the  follow- 
ing article  :  "  To  see  whether  the  town  will  pass  a  vote  to  exempt 
those  people  in  this  town  that  have  separated  themselves  from  the 
public  worship  of  God  on  the  Lord's  Day  at  our  Meetinghouse,  from 
paying  to  the  support  of  Mr.  Rice."  With  our  present  feelings,  and 
customs,  and  laws  touching  religious  freedom,  it  would  be  one  of  the 
easiest  things  in  the  world  to  settle  such  a  question.  But  if  we  throw 
ourselves  back,  in  imagination,  to  that  day,  and  look  at  the  question 
in  the  light  of  usages  and  laws  which  then  prevailed,  we  shall  find  the 


35 

subject  environed  with  difficulties.  The  legislative  Act  of  1092, 
which  was  still  in  force,  not  only  told  every  qualified  voter  that  he 
must  pay  his  tax  for  the  support  of  some  "  able,  learned,  orthodox 
minister,  of  good  conversation,"  but  even  went  so  far  as  to  tell  him 
in  pretty  definite  terms  to  whom  he  must  pay  it.  After  granting  to 
"  each  respective  gathered  Church  in  any  town  or  place  within  this 
Province  the  power,  according  to  the  directions  given  in  the  word  of 
God,  to  choose  their  own  minister"  the  Act  then  proceeds  as  follows : 
— "  the  person  thus  elected  and  approved,  accepting  thereof,  settling 
with  them,  shall  be  the  minister,  towards  whose  settlement  and  main- 
tenance all  the  inhabitants  and  ratable  estates  lying  within  such  town 
or  part  of  a  town,  or  place  limited  by  law  for  upholding  the  public 
worship  of  God,  shall  be  obliged  to  pay  in  proportion." 

The  wisdom  of  this  Act  has  since  been  called  in  question,  and  the 
whole  code  of  laws  touching  religious  worship,  essentially  modified. 
But  such  was  the  law  of  the  Province  at  that  time.  The  case  being 
thus,  it  became  a  serious  question  between  the  two  parties,  what 
should  be  done.  The  fact  that  there  was  public  discussiqn  and  deli- 
beration upon  it  in  town  meeting,  shows  that  there  was  room,  at  least 
for  doubt,  though  at  this  distant  day  we  may  be  unable  to  discover 
what  the  precise  difficulty  was.  At  their  first  meeting  no  vote  was 
taken,  though  it  appears  from  subsequent  proceedings,  that  one  party 
still  refused  to  pay  the  ministerial  tax,  and  the  other  still  continued  to 
enforce  it  by  dint  of  laiv. 

At  length  on  the  18th  of  March  1752,  the  town  held  a  special 
meeting,  "  to  see  whether  the  town  will  come  into  some  method  of 
agreement  with  the  Separatists  tnat  were  distrained  upon  for  their 
minister  rates."  Moses  Marcy  was  called  to  the  chair.  The  excel- 
lent spirit  which  the  venerable  Moderator  displayed  on  that  occasion 
is  worthy  of  all  praise,  and  must  have  satisfied  all  parties,  that,  who- 
ever stood  in  the  way  of  an  amicable  adjustment,  he  did  not.  He  re- 
quested the  Separatists  to  be  seated  on  one  side  of  the  Meetinghouse 
by  themselves,  and  the  rest  of  the  citizens  on  the  other.  "  The  mo- 
derator then  desired  that  there  might  be  a  friendly  conference,  to  see 
if  by  some  means  or  other  we  could  not  make  up  the  difference  be- 
tween us,  without  going  into  the  law  :  and  after  a  long  debate  the 
Separatists  were  asked  whether,  if  the  creatures  and  all  the  goods  that 
were  taken  from  them  by  distress  for  their  minister's  rates  in  the  year 
1751  were  returned,  it  would  satisfy  them,  so  that  we  might  live  to- 
gether like   Christian   friends   and   neighbors?     They  answered,   it 


30 

would  satisfy  them  for  that  year,  with  reasonable  satisfaction,  and 
no  further.  Then  they  were  desired  to  bring  in,  in  writing,  what 
would  content  them ;  which  they  did."  The  amount  of  this  writing 
was,  that  they  desired  restitution  to  be  made  them  from  1749,  and 
one  individual  from  1748.  "  It  was  then  earnestly  requested  of  the 
Separatists,  that,  as  we  then  did  and  do  now  believe  we  had  a  good 
right  to  do  as  we  did,  yet  for  peace's  sake,  we  might  meet  one  another 
and  agree." 

No  agreement,  however,  was  effected,  and  the  meeting  was  brought 
to  a  close,  after  Nathaniel  Walker,  James  Denison,  Joseph  Baker, 
John  Tarbell  and  Moses  Marcy  had  been  appointed  a  Committee, 
*'  to  treat  further  with  them."  What  success  attended  this  negocia- 
tion  does  not  appear  from  any  surviving  record.  A  candid  and  care- 
ful review  of  the  whole  subject,  I  think  must  convince  any  one,  that, 
although  it  usually  happens,  when  two  parties  are  contending,  that 
they  are  both  in  the  wrong,  these  were  both  in  the  right ;  one  party 
having  the  authority  of  law  on  their  side,  the  other  being  supported 
by  the  true  and  fundamental  principles  of  religious  freedom. 

Twelve  of  those  who  separated  from  the  Congregational  Church, 
having  for  some  time  sustained  a  preacher  of  the  same  denomination, 
were  at  length  baptized  by  immersion,  together  with  their  minister. 
Infant  baptism,  however,  was  not  yet  excluded  from  their  Society,  and 
open  communion  was  still  continued.  A  new  separation  at  length 
was  effected  between  them,  and  a  regular  Baptist  Church  was  form- 
ed— one  of  the  oldest,  and  most  respectable  in  the  County.  Those 
who  still  adhered  to  the  peculiar  views  of  the  Separatists,  held  reli- 
gious worship  by  themselves  but  a  short  time  after  this  subdivision, 
and  then  were  disbanded  ;  some  going  to  the  Baptist  Church,  and 
some  returning  to  the  Congregational. 

We  now  resume  the  history  of  the  original  Church,  subjoined  to 
which  will  be  found  a  sketch  of  the  Baptists  from  this  date. 

After  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Rice,  two  years  elapsed  before  his 
successor  in  the  pastoral  office  was  settled.  During,  this  interval  the 
pulpit  was  regularly  supplied  with  preachers,  among  whom  were 
Messrs.  Storrs,  Whitney,  and  Mills.  On  the  17th  of  July,  1760,  the 
Church  held  a  fast,  in  which  the  Congregation  also  joined,  "  to  seek 
to  God  in  Jesus  Christ  for  light  and  direction  in  the  settlement  of  a 
gospel  minister,  and  to  the  Head  of  the  Church  to  fit  and  qualify  one 
with  his  gifts  and  graces  for  to  be  a  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  for  us ;" 
—these  are  the  words  of  the  Church  record.      About  six  months  af- 


37 

ter  this,  another  day  was  set  apart  for  fasting  and  prayer,  "  in  order 
to  give  the  Rev.  Mr.  Joshua  Paine  a  call." 

Thus  it  appears  that  their  enquiries  respecting  a  candidate  were 
directed,  first  of  all  to  God,  afterwards  to  those  who  were  in  a  course 
of  preparation  for  the  ministry  ;  and  that  the  leading  qualifications 
for  the  pastoral  office,  in  their  view,  were  such  gifts  and  graces  as 
the  Head  of  the  Church  bestows.  When  will  the  Churches  again 
' '  ask  for  this  old  path  and  walk  therein?"  It  cannot  be  doubted, 
that  by  so  doing  they  would  be  in  a  fairer  way  to  "  find  rest  for  their 
souls,"  than  by  the  hasty,  if  not  the  prayer less  manner  in  which  this 
important  affair  is  despatched  at  the  present  day. 

Mr.  Paine  was  ordained  June  17th,  1761.  The  settlement  of  a 
pastor  in  those  days  was  not  that  common  occurrence  which  it  has 
now  become.  The  contract  between  him  and  the  people,  like  the 
marriage  covenant,  was  for  life ;  and  it  was  deemed  just  about  as  im- 
proper and  lawless  in  the  one  case  as  it  was  in  the  other,  for  the  par- 
ties to  put  each  other  away  "for  every  cause."  It  seldom  happened 
that  one  generation  witnessed  two  ordinations  in  the  same  place. 
The  Ecclesiastical  Councils,  therefore,  were  large,*  and  the  con- 
course of  people  immense.  Mr.  Paine  was  ordained  on  a  platform 
erected  under  the  brow  of  the  Meetinghouse  hill,  the  house  itself 
being  unable  to  contain  the  vast  assembly  that  came  together  on  that 
occasion. 

As  to  the  Meetinghouse  it  may  here  be  observed,  that  by  this  time  it 
poorly  accommodated  even  the  regular  congregation  on  the  Sabbath, 
if  we  may  judge  from  the  frequent  petitions  sent  into  town  meetings  by 
men  and  women, t  for  leave  to  build  pews  here  and   there,  above  and 

*  In  providing  entertainment  for  the  Council  on  this  occasion  the  town  voted  £13  6s.  8d. 
Lawful  Money,  or  $44,50 — a  sum,  which  at  that  time  would  purchase  an  entertainment  at 
least  three  times  as  bountiful  as  can  be  furnished  for  the  same  money  now.  It  was,  in  fact, 
just  equal  to  the  amount  raised  that  year  for  the  support  of  all  the  public  schools  in  town  ! 

f  The  following  extract  from  the  records  of  the  March  Meeting  in  1762,  is  here  given  as  a 
specimen. — "  Then  there  was  a  petition  from  Hannah  Allen,  E'izabeth  Hooker,  Rhoda  Clark, 
Dinah  Allen,  Abigail  Mason,  Susannah  Solis,  Lois  Johnson,  Mary  Mason,  Abigail  Fay, 
Elizabeth  Allen,  Abigail  Allen,  Deborah  Faulkner,  Hannah  Chub,  and  Elizabeth  Chickering, 
shewing  that  the  hind  seat  in  the  women's  side-gallery  is  so  low  that  they  cannot  see  the  min- 
ister, and  the  other  seats  are  full  and  crowded,  so  that  it  is  very  uncomfortable  sitting  ; — pray- 
ing favor  of  the  town,  that  the  town  would  grant  them  liberty  to  build  a  pew  where  the  hind 
seat  is"  &c. — "The  petition  was  read,  and  after  some  debate  thereon,"  was  granted. 

Whatever  difference  of  opinion  may  exist  in-  the  community  respecting  the  propriety  of 
"  women's  petitions"  to  Congress,  for  the  redress  of  national  grievances,  certainly  no  one  in 
Christendom  can  discourage  the  weaker  sex  from  making  known  their  request  in  a  grievance 
like  this. 


38 

below,  wherever  a  nook  or  corner  could  be  found  for  a  pew  to  stand. 
It  is  reported  by  those  who  remember  that  house,  that  even  the  galle- 
ry stairs  were  seated  from  the  bottom  to  the  top  with  children  and 
youth. 

The  subject  of  a  new  Meetinghouse  began  to  be  agitated  in  town 
meeting  soon  after  Mr.  Paine's  ordination,  and  in  1773  there  was  a 
"  clear  vote"  taken  to  build  one  ;  which  vote,  however,  was  afterwards 
reconsidered,  and  the  whole  subject  deferred,  on  account  of  the  im- 
pending contest  with  Great  Britain.  No  sooner  had  the  Revolution- 
ary war  been  brought  to  a  close,  than  the  Meetinghouse  came  again 
into  remembrance.  After  various  attempts  and  many  long  debates, 
the  work  was  undertaken,  and  the  frame  of  the  present  Congrega- 
tional Church  was  raised  on  the  29th  and  30th  days  of  June,  1784. 
It  was  not  finished  and  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  God  till  the  expi- 
ration of  two  years  and  six  months, — many  embarrassments  having 
been  thrown  in  the  way  of  the  building  committee  by  those  who  lived 
in  parts  of  the  town  remote  from  the  centre.  The  inhabitants  of 
that  part  which  is  now  included  within  the  limits  of  Southbridge,  in 
particular,  made  strenuous  opposition  ;  and  not  without  reason  ;  for 
many  of  them  were  obliged  to  travel  from  four,  to  seven  miles,  in 
coming  to  Church.  This  inconvenience,  however,  was  remedied  be- 
fore many  years  had  elapsed  by  the  erection  of  another  house  of  wor- 
ship in  that  section  of  the  town,  and  the  organization  of  a  distinct 
Society. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Paine,  having  served  God  in  the  ministry  of  his 
Son  for  the  space  of  38  years,  6  months,  and  11  days,  rested  from  his 
labors  on  the  28th  of  December,  1799,  in  the  65th  year  of  his  age. 
He  was  a  native  of  Pomfret,  Ct.  and  a  graduate  of  Yale  College. 
He  is  represented  as  "  a  man  of  highly  respectable  talents,  an  im- 
pressive speaker,  much  esteemed  by  his  people,  and  one  who  left  be- 
hind him  a  salutary  and  lasting  influence."  The  period  of  his  labors 
in  this  place  was  one  of  peculiar  discouragement  to  a  minister.  The 
public  mind  was  kept  in  a  state  of  agitation  during  almost  the  whole 
time — first,  by  the  oppressive  measures  of  Great  Britain,  then,  by  the 
Revolutionary  war,  and  afterwards,  by  the  pecuniary  embarrassments 
consequent  upon  that  exhausting  struggle.  So  engrossing  were  the 
political  affairs  of  the  day,  that  vital  religion  lost,  in  a  great  measure, 
its  power  over  the  minds  even  of  those  who  enjoyed  the  means  of 
grace  ;  while  a  large  proportion  of  the  young  men,  who  constitute 
the  minister's  brightest  hope,  were  scattered  through   the  land,   as 


39 

sheep  without  a  shepherd,  breathing  the  moral  atmosphere  of  the 
camp  and  the  battle-field. 

The  whole  number  gathered  into  the  church  during  Mr.  Paine's 
ministry  cannot  be  definitely  ascertained,  as  the  records,  embracing 
a  period  of  30  years,  have  unfortunately  been  lost.  During  the  first 
7  years  of  his  labors,  however,  the  number  of  the  names  was  54. 
There  were  found  to  be  112  resident  members  when  his  successor 
was  settled. 

Mr.  Paine's  pecuniary  support,  as  fixed  at  the  time  of  his  ordina- 
tion, was  a  settlement  of  <£200  Lawful  Money,  equal  to  $666,  and  a 
salary  of  £66  13s.  id.  or  $222.  But  the  continual  fluctuations  in  the 
value  of  money,  rendered  it  necessary,  almost  every  year,  to  change 
the  nominal  amount ;  and  amid  all  the  distresses  of  the  times,  the 
records  of  the  town  show  a  determination,  on  the  part  of  the  people, 
to  make  good  the  value  which  they  promised  at  first.  They  even 
continued  the  regular  salary  one  full  year  to  the  widow  of  their  de- 
ceased minister,  besides  raising  money  to  supply  the  pulpit  with  stat- 
ed preaching.  During  a  part  of  the  year  following  his  decease,  they 
employed  the  Rev.  Mr.  Leonard,  of  the  Baptist  Church,  and  both 
congregations  met  once  more  in  the  same  house — a  pleasing  evidence 
of  kind  feelings,  at  that  time,  between  the  two  denominations,  which 
are  not  known  to  have  been  essentially  interrupted  since. 

The  Rev.  Otis  Lane,  a  native  of  Rowley,  and  a  graduate  of  Har- 
vard University,  was  ordained  as  successor  to  Mr.  Paine,  Dec.  10th, 
1800.  The  ordaining  Council  consisted  of  18  Pastors  and  26  Dele- 
gates— 44  in  all.  The  sermon  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  Abiel 
Holmes,  D.  D.  of  Cambridge,  and  was  published  soon  after. 

The  conditions  on  which  Mr.  Lane  was  settled,  left  him  at  liberty 
to  ask  for  a  dissolution  of  the  compact  at  any  time  when  he  might 
deem  the  reasons  sufficient  for  doing  it, — which  reasons  he  was  bound 
to  communicate  in  writing  to  the  other  party  at  least  one  year  before 
the  final  action  thereon.  The  Society  had  liberty  to  do  the  same 
whenever  two  thirds  of  the  legal  voters  should  request  it.  This  was 
the  first  instance  in  Sturbridge,  and  one  of  the  first  in  the  State,  of 
any  provision  being  made,  in  the  settlement  of  a  pastor,  for  dis- 
solving his  connection  with  the  people.  It  is  now  the  common  prac- 
tice. And  although  there  is  some  diversity  of  opinion  among  good 
people  respecting  its  utility,  all  must  accede  to  the  following  proposi- 
tions.— 1.  There  may  be  causes  which  shall  not  only  justify  but  de- 
mand a  separation  between  the  pastor  and  his  flock.     2.  When  either 


40 

party  think  that  such  causes  exist,  the  separation  will  be  effected,  in 
some  way  or  other,  whether  the  contract  makes  provision  for  it  or 
not. — 3.  The  more  peaceably  such  an  event  can  be  brought  to  pass, 
the  better  it  is  for  both  parties.  The  truth  of  these  propositions  be- 
ing allowed,  it  seems  to  follow  as  a  necessary  inference,  that  there  is 
reason  for  the  modern  practice,  even  if  no  other  reason  can  be  found 
than  that  which  Christ  has  assigned  for  the  Mosaic  law  of  divorce, 
— the  hardness  of  their  hearts. 

^  On  the  30th  of  August  1801,  a  colony,  consisting  of  20  persons, 
took  dismission  from  this  church,  for  the  purpose  of  being  organized 
into  what  has  since  become  the  Congregational  Church  in  Southbridge. 
I  have  already  noticed  the  erection  of  a  Meetinghouse  in  that  part  of 
the  town.  That  house  was  commenced  in  1797,  and  dedicated  in 
1800.  The  next  year  an  Act  was  passed  in  the  Legislature,  "  setting 
off  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  South  East  part  of  Sturbridge, 
the  South  West  part  of  Charlton,  and  the  West  part  of  Dudley,  into 
a  Poll  Parish,  for  the  purpose  of  a  Religious  Society."  These  were 
of  several  different  denominations,  but  they  all  came  into  an  agree- 
ment, that  each  denomination  should  have  their  own  minister  a  part 
of  the  time  proportioned  to  the  amount  of  money  subscribed  by  each 
for  the  support  of  preaching.  This  arrangement  continued  for  the 
space  of  16  years,  during  which  time  74  different  ministers  iccre  em- 
ployed, embracing  Congregationalists,  Baptists,  Universalists  and 
Methodists.  At  length  the  Congregationalists,  having  sold  their  in- 
heritance in  the  Meetinghouse  to  the  Baptists,  were  incorporated  in- 
to a  distinct  Society,  ordained  a  minister,  and  sustained  public  wor- 
ship by  themselves  in  a  private  dwelling,  till  1821,  when  they  erect- 
ed the  house  in  which  they  now  worship  God.* 

The  departure  of  this  colony  from  the  original  Church  in  Stur- 
bridge, was  not  the  only,  nor  indeed  the  most  material  diminution  of 
strength  which  it  experienced  about  this  time.  For  a  number  of 
years  subsequent   to  1800,  the  most  noticeable  circumstance  which 


*  The  Rev.  Jason  Park,  their  first  minister,  was  ordained  Dec.  18,  1816,  and  continued 
in  the  office  16  years.  He  was  dismissed  Dec.  18,  1832,  and  soon  after  removed  to  Michi- 
gan, where  he  still  preaches  a  part  of  the  time.  His  successor,  the  Rev.  Henry  J.  Lamb, 
was  ordained  June  6,  1833.  After  a  short  ministry  he  was  dismissed,  April  23,  1835,  and  has 
subsequently  been  settled  in  Chelsea,  where  he  still  remains.  Their  present  pastor,  the 
Rev.  Eber  Carpenter,  was  installed  Dec.  1,  1835.  He  was  graduated  at  Yale  College,  stu- 
died Theology  at  Andover,  and  was  a  settled  minister  in  the  first  parish  of  York,  Me.  for  se- 
veral years  before  his  removal  to  Southbridge.  The  Church  and  Society  are  in  a  peace- 
ful and  prosperous  state.    The  number  belonging  to  the  Church  is  about  120. 


41 

the  records  present,  is  spiritual  declension.  Family  worship  was 
much  neglected  ;  brotherly  love  was  growing  cold  ;  roots  of  bitterness 
were  springing  up.  The  recorded  lamentations  of  the  pastor  over 
the  deserted  ways  of  Zion  and  in  view  of  the  small  numbers  who 
were  joining  themselves  to  the  Lord,  are  truly  affecting.  But  the 
time  to  favor  Zion  was  at  hand.  It  arrived  in  1810.  That  year  wa3 
a  season  of"  refreshing  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord,"  in  which  40 
members  were  added  to  the  Church.  This  may  be  considered  the 
greatest,  if  not  indeed  the  first  revival  of  religion  which  the  town 
had  ever  enjoyed,  and  formed  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  this  Church. 
An  impulse  was  given  to  spiritual  religion,  which  is  probably  felt 
to  the  present  day.  Mr.  Lane  was  pastor  of  this  Church  about  18 
years,  in  which  time  it  was  increased  by  the  addition  of  98  members 
— 84  by  profession,  and  14  by  letter.  His  dismission  took  place, 
Feb.  24,  1819.  He  was  afterwards  installed  over  the  Church  in  Vol- 
untown  and  Sterling,  Ct.  where  he  remained  till  the  infirmities  of 
advancing  age  disqualified  him  for  a  longer  continuance  in  the  gospel 
ministry.  He  now  resides  with  his  children,  affectionately  remember- 
ed by  the  Church  to  whose  service  he  gave  the  vigor  of  his  life. 

The  Rev.  Alvan  Bond,  a  native  of  Sutton,  and  a  graduate  of  Brown 
University,  who  had  recently  completed  his  Theological  studies  at 
Andover,  came  to  this  town  in  June  1819,  as  a  temporary  supply,  and 
was  ordained  to  the  pastoral  office,  Nov.  30th  of  the  same  year.  Mr. 
Bond's  first  business  was  the  "  delightful  task"  of  gathering  into  the 
Church  the  fruits  of  a  religious  revival  which  commenced  during  the 
last  year  of  his  predecessor's  ministry.  The  number  added  to  the 
Lord  at  that  time  was  about  25.  "  Nothing  of  special  interest,"  says 
Mr.  Bond  in  a  note  to  the  author  of  this  sketch,  "  occurred  for  seve* 
ral  years.  At  length  in  the  autumn  of  1825  God  visited  that  people 
again  with  the  outpouring  of  his  Spirit.  That  work  was  preceded 
by  special  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  pastor  to  awaken  professed  Chris- 
tians to  their  duty.  The  measures  pursued  consisted  mainly  in  suc- 
cessive and  continued  appeals  to  the  Church  from  the  pulpit,  follow- 
ed by  pastoral  visitation  and  meetings  for  prayer.  Never  shall  I  for- 
get the  powerful  interest  of  that  time  of  refreshing."  About  40  were 
gathered  into  the  Church  in  1826,  and  nearly  20  in  the  year  follow- 
ing, as  the  results  of  this  gracious  visitation.  During  the  12  years 
of  his  ministry  in  this  place  123  were  added  to  the  Church,  Sabbath 
Schools  and  Bible  Classes  were  established  in  different  parts  of  the 
town,  and  a  Temperance  Society  formed.  The  talents  of  Mr.  Bond 
6 


42 

being  equally  well  suited  to  another,  and  in  some  respects  a  more  im- 
portant sphere,  he  was  called  away  from  the  pastoral  office,  Oct.  3, 
1831,  to  the  Professorship  of  Sacred  Literature  in  the  Theological 
Seminary  at  Bangor,  Me.  After  a  residence  in  that  Seminary  for  the 
space  of  three  years,  he  returned  again  to  the  ministry,  and  was  in- 
stalled over  the  second  Congregational  Church  in  Norwich,  Ct.  May 
7th,  1835,  where  he  still  remains. 

The  present  pastor  of  this  Church,  a  native  of  Plymouth,  and  a 
graduate  of  Amherst  College,  preached  his  first  sermon  here  Oct.  2d, 
1831, — the  next  Sabbath  after  he-  had  completed  his  Theological 
course  at  Andover,  and  the  day  before  his  predecessor  was  dismissed. 
He  was  ordained  on  the  21st  of  December  following.  With  his 
ministry  the  Society  commenced  their  present  method  of  supporting 
the  gospel  by  voluntary  subscription.  The  facility  and  promptness 
with  which  it  has  uniformly  been  effected  in  this  way,  have  removed 
all  thoughts  of  returning  to  the  ancient  method  of  taxation. 

The  wonders  which  divine  grace  has  wrought  in  behalf  of  this 
Church,  since  the  time  of  my  connexion  with  it,  are  too  many  to  be 
recounted  in  this  brief  sketch;  and  yet  they  are  too  striking  to  be 
wholly  overlooked.  In  coining  to  this  part  of  the  Lord's  vineyard 
seven  years  ago,  I  came  to  a  field  "  white  already  to  harvest."  A 
deep  religious  interest,  which  began  to  pervade  this  town  near  the 
close  of  Mr.  Bond's  ministry,  continued  with  but  little  or  no  abate- 
ment through  the  first  year  and  a  half  of  my  own.  Indeed,  some 
were  admitted  to  the  Church  at  every  communion  season,  with  a 
single  exception,  for  more  than  two  years.  And  often  has  the  Spirit 
of  God  since  that  time  aroused  this  community,  in  a  greater  or  less 
degree,  to  the  care  of  the  soul.  During  these  seven  years  the  Lord 
has  added  to  this  Church  203  by  profession,  and  56  by  letters  of  re- 
commendation, 259  in  all.  The  whole  number  now  connected  with 
it  is  335.  In  the  same  period  of  time  this  Church  and  religious 
Society  have  contributed  to  various  objects  of  Christain  charity  about 
$4,000,  besides  furnishing  occasional  aid  to  several  young  men  of 
this  town  in  their  preparation  for  the  sacred  ministry. 

In  1835  the  interior  of  the  Meetinghouse  was  entirely  remodeled, 
on  a  plan  which  furnishes  many  more  and  much  better  seats,  than  it 
supplied  before.  An  example,  so  worthy  of  imitation,  has  since  been 
followed  in  at  least  six  of  the  neighboring  towns. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  those  who  have  sustained  the  office 
of  Deacon   in  the  Congregational   Church    since    its    organization. 


43 

The  date  indicates  the  year  in  which   they  were  elected.     A  chasm 
of  30  years   in  the  Records  of  Mr.  Paine's  ministry,  renders  it  im- 
possible to  assign   a  date  to  those   who  were  appointed    to    office 
during  that  interval.     The  four  last  named  brethren  still  officiate. 
1736,  Daniel  Fiske  Roland  Clark 

1736,  Ebenezar  Stearns  Eleazar  Hebbard 

1741,  Isaac  Newell  1807,  Joel  Plimpton 

1747,  Joseph  Baker  1808,  Daniel  Plimpton 

1749,  Edward  Foster  •         1826,  Zenas  Dunton 

1764,  Moses  Weld  1826,  George  Davis 

Joshua  Harding  1832,  Ephraim  M.  Lyon 

Job  Hamant  1832,  James  Chapin. 


THE  BAPTIST  CHURCH.* 

The  Baptist  Church  in  this  town  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  the  County 
of  Worcester.  It  was  organized  about  the  year  1750.  Its  original 
members  withdrew  from  the  Congregational  Church  under  the  care 
of  Mr.  Caleb  Rice,  several  years  earlier,  but  did  not  enter  into  a  se- 
parate organization.  Their  first  place  of  worship  was  a  school  house, 
situated  not  far  from  the  spot  where  their  first  Meetinghouse  after- 
wards stood. 

Rev.  William  Ewing  was  their  first  Minister.  He  is  represented 
as  a  pious  and  devoted  man.  He  had  been  a  soldier  in  the  French 
war  before  he  enlisted  as  a  "  soldier  of  the  Cross."  He  served  in 
General  Braddock's  army,  and  was  in  the  battle,  called  "  Braddock's 
fight."  After  a  short  ministry  in  this  town  he  removed  to  another 
part  of  the  Lord's  vineyard,  and  the  Church  was  left  without  a  pastor 
for  many  years.  In  1784  they  erected  a  Meetinghouse  on  Fiske  Hill, 
by  voluntary  contribution,  and  on  the  27th  of  Oct.  the  same  year,  the 
Rev.  Jordon  Dodge  was  ordained  their  pastor.     The  Church  was 

*  It  is  with  unfeigned  regret  that  I  tind  myself  unahle  to  give  a  more  extended  account  of 
this  Church.  Its  records  for  the  first  30  years  are  lost ;  and  some  important  documents  of 
later  date,  which  were  supposed  to  he  extant,  have  utterly  eluded  the  most  diligent  search. 
It  is  only  by  the  hope  that  these  few  facts  may  be  of  service  to  some  other  one  in  compiling  a 
more  complete  h  istory,  that  1  am  induced  to  inse  rt  this  imperfect  sketch. 


44 

greatly  prospered  during  the  first  three  years  of  his  ministry.  He  is 
said  to  have  been  a  fervent,  energetic  speaker,  having  unusual  com- 
mand over  the  feelings  of  his  audience.  But  his  moral  character  at 
length  falling  under  censure,  he  was  dismissed  from  his  pastoral  office 
in  178S,  and  silenced  from  preaching  soon  after.  Various  attempts 
were  made  to  procure  a  successor,  and  a  number  of  ministers  were 
employed  to  supply  the  pulpit,  among  whom  were  Messrs.  Baldwin, 
Rathbun  and  Root.  But  no  permanent  teacher  was  obtained  till 
1794,  when  the  Rev.  Zenas  L.  Leonard,  a  native  of  Bridgewater, 
and  a  graduate  of  Brown  University,  came  to  this  place.  After  sup- 
plying the  pulpit  statedly  about  two  years,  he  was  ordained  as  their 
pastor,  Sept,  15,  1796.  During  his  ministry  the  Church  enjoyed 
several  precious  seasons  of  revival,  and  important  additions  were  made, 
especially  in  the  years  1810,  18,  25,  and  31.  It  is  supposed  that 
during  Mr.  Leonard's  whole  ministry  he  baptized,  in  this,  and  the  sur- 
rounding towns,  more  than  200  persons. 

In  1817,  22  members  of  his  Church  were  dismissed,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  forming  a  Church  in  Southbridge.  The  same  year  14  per- 
sons living  in  Brookfield  were  admitted  as  a  branch  of  the  Church  in 
ihis  town,  and  received  a  share  of  ministerial  labor.  A  few  years 
after  this,  a  Colony  of  about  20  members  were  dismissed  from  Mr. 
Leonard's  charge  and  organized  into  a  Baptist  Church  in  Holland. 

On  the  13th  of  Oct.  1832,  Mr.  Leonard  was  compelled,  by  the 
growing  infirmities  of  age,  to  resign  the  pastoral  office,  having  served 
God  in  the  gospel  ministry  for  the  space  of  38  years.  The  Rev. 
Abiel  Fisher,  formerly  of  Bellingham,  supplied  his  place  during  the 
last  year  of  this  period. 

Their  first  Meetinghouse,  by  this  time  was  going  to  decay;  and  as 
it  stood  at  an  inconvenient  distance  from  many  of  the  Society,  in 
1832  they  erected  a  new  and  far  more  commodious  one,  in  the  centre 
village,  on  a  corner  of  the  old  Burying-ground.  It  was  dedicated  Jan. 
8,  1833,  and  the  Rev.  Addison  Parker  installed  in  the  pastoral  office 
the  same  day.  Mr.  Parker  was  graduated  at  Middlebury  College, 
was  afterwards  a  Tutor  in  Waterville,  and  had  been  settled  over  the 
Baptist  Church  in  Southbridge  five  years  and  a  half  when  he  was  in- 
vited to  this  town.  He  continued  with  this  people  till  Dec.  12,  1835, 
when  he  accepted  a  call  to  settle  in  Methuen,  and  was  dismissed  from 
rus  charge  in  Sturbridge.  The  Rev.  Isaac  Merriam,  formerly  a  min- 
ister in  Maine,  was  recognized  as  his  successor  in  August  1836,  and 
took  dismission  the  following  year. 


The  present  pastor  of  the  Church  is  the  Rev.  O.  O.  Stearns  a 
graduate  of  Brown  University.  His  ordination  took  place  Sept.  25, 
1837.  It  is  impossible  to  determine,  with  any  accuracy,  the  number 
admitted  to  this  Church  since  its  organization.  Its  present  number 
is  not  far  from  130. 

The  Baptist  Society  have  just  completed  the  removal  of  their  Meet- 
inghouse to  Fiskdale  village,  about  2  miles  from  its  former  location. 
As  this  arrangement  brings  the  Sanctuary  to  the  doors  of  many  who 
have  hitherto  found  it  inconvenient  to  attend  Church  statedly  it  is 
presumed  that  they  will  hereafter  avail  themselves  of  that  privilege. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  those  who  have  held  the  office  of 
Deacon  in  this  Church  since  its  organization,  viz. 

Daniel  Fiske  John  Phillips 

John  Newell  Jonathan  Lyon 

Jonathan  Phillips  Moses  Fiske 

Henry  Fiske  Prince  Bracket. 


APPENDIX. 


List  of  Graduates. 

H.  U.  denotes  Harvard  University,  Y.  C.  Yale  College,  B.  U. 
Brown  University,  D.  C.  Dartmouth-  College,  and  A.  C.  Amherst 
College.  The  following  mark,  (*)  indicates  those  who  belonged  to 
that  part  of  the  town  which  is  now  included  within  the  limits  of 
Southbridge. 

Caleb  Rice,  H.  U.  1764.  Son  of  the  Rev.  Caleb  Rice,  the  first 
minister  in  Sturbridge. 

Nathan  Rice,  H.  U.  1773.  Son  of  the  same.  He  was  Colonel 
in  the  U.  States  Army  which  was  stationed  at  Oxford  during  the 
winter  of  1798-9,  and  afterwards  removed  to  Burlington,  Vt.  where 
he  died  a  few  years  since. 

Joshua  Paine,  H.  U.  1784.  Son  of  the  Rev.  Joshua  Paine. 
Having  completed  his  Theological  studies,  he  was  ordained  Pastor  of 
the  first  Church  in  Charlestown,  June  10,  1787,  and  was  the  first 
minister  settled  there  after  the  conflagration  of  the  town  by  the  Bri- 
tish in  1775.  He  died  Feb.  27,  1788,  after  a  short  ministry  of  less 
than  two  years. 

Thomas  Babbit,  H.  U.  1784.  Physician.  He  pursued  his  profes- 
sional studies  with  the  elder  Dr.  Warren  of  Boston,  commenced  the 
practice  of  medicine  in  Gloucester,  returned  to  Sturbridge  in  1790, 
and  removed  to  Brookfield  in  1803,  where  he  died  in  1813,  having 
acquired  a  distinguished  reputation,  especially  as  a  surgeon.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  Medical  Society,  and  accompa- 
nied Gen.  Eaton  as  Surgeon  in  his  expedition  against  Tripoli. 

Ephraim  Allen,  H.  U.  1789.  Physician.  He  studied  with  Dr. 
Erasmus  Babbit  of  this  town,  and  settled  in  Salem,  N.  Y.  where  he 
remained  till  his  death. 

Erasmus  Babbit,  H.  U.  1790.  Lawyer.  He  was  also  Captain  in 
the  Oxford  army. 

Samuel  C.  Crafts,  H.  U.  1790.  For  some  time  Governor  of  the 
State  of  Vermont. 

Grosvenor  Tarbell,  Y.  C.  1793.  Physician.  He  pursued  his  me- 
dical studies  with  Dr.  Thomas  Babbit,  and  settled  in  Lincoln. 


46 

Alpheas  Cheney,  D.  C.  1795. 

John  Paine,  H.  U.  1799.  Lawyer.  He  was  son  of  the  Rev. 
Joshua  Paine,  studied  law  with' the  Hon.  Jabez  Upharn  of  Brook- 
field,  and  practised  law  in  this  town  till  his  death. 

Timothy  Ncivell,  II.  U.  LS02.  He  was  the  only  son  of  Gen.  Timo- 
thy Newell,  and  died  in  Salem,  N.  Y.  soon  after  he  left  College. 

*Samuel  Bacon,  H.  U.  1808.  Mr.  Bacon  read  law  with  W.  C. 
White,  Esq.  of  Rutland,  and  Hon.  Levi  Lincoln  of  Worcester. 
While  in  this  latter  place  he  also  edited  the  National  ^Egis.  Soon 
after  he  left,  he  commenced  the  editing  of  the  Hive,  a  political  pa- 
per, published  in  Lancaster,  Pa.  In  1812  he  became  an  officer  of 
Marines  in  the  U.  States'  service  ;  afterwards  an  attorney  at  law  in 
the  State  of  Pennsylvania  ;  subsequently  a  Minister  of  the  Episcopal 
Church ;  and  finally  the  principal  Agent  of  the  American  Govern- 
ment for  persons  liberated  from  slave-ships,  on  the  coast  of  Africa, 
where  he  terminated  his  valuable  life,  May  2,  1820. 

Benjamin  Rice,  B.  U.  1808.  He  pursued  Theological  studies  at 
Andover,  and  is  now  settled  in  Buxton,  Maine. 

Josiah  J.  Fiske,  B.  U.  1808.  Lawyer.  He  commenced  the  study 
of  law  in  the  office  of  the  late  Nathaniel  Searl,  L.  L.  D.,  of  Provi- 
dence, R.  I.  and  completed  it  with  Timothy  Bigelow,  Esq.  of  Boston, 
after  which  he  entered  into  the  practice  of  law  in  Wrentham,  where 
his  office  became  a  favorite  resort  for  students  of  the  legal  profession. 
For  several  years  he  was  Senator  in  the  State  Legislature,  and  for 
some  time  a  member  of  the  Executive  Council.  During  the  latter 
years  of  his  life  he  became  deeply  interested  in  the  manufacturing 
enterprise  at  Fiskedale  village,  Sturbridge,  where  he  departed  this  life, 
Aug.  15,  1838. 

*  William  L.  Marcy,  B.  U.  1808.  He  pursued  the  study  of  law  in 
the  city  of  Troy,  N.  Y., — settled  in  Albany, — soon  rose  to  distinc- 
tion in  his  profession,  and  is  now  Governor  of  the  State  of  N.  York. 

Jacob  Corey,  B.  U.  1808.      Physician  in  Sturbridge. 

* Daniel  F.  Harding,  B.  U.  1809. 

David  W.  Fiske,  B.  U.  1825.     Lawyer  in  Detroit,  Michigan. 

Calvin  P.  Fiske,  B.  U.  1826.     Physician  in  Sturbridge. 

Henry  F.  Leonard,  B.  U.  1826.  Son  of  Rev.  Z.  L.  Leonard,  and 
died  at  the  house  of  his  father  soon  after  he  left  College. 

David  T.  Lane,  A.  C.  1829.  He  had  just  completed  a  course  of 
Theological  studies  at  Andover,  and  received  a  commission  from  the 
A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  with  the  intention  of  devoting  himself  to  the  Mis- 
sionary cause,  when  his  promising  life  terminated  at  the  house  of  his 


48 

father,  the  Rev.  Otis  Lane,  wjio  at  that  time  was  settled  in  the  minis- 
try at  Sterling,  Ct. 

William  H.  Taylor,  B.  U.  1837.     A  teacher  at  the  South. 

Abijah  S.  Lyon,  B.  U.  1837.  Pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church  in 
Oxford. 

Benjamin  F.  Brooks,  A.  C.  1837.     Student  at  law  in  Cambridge. 

Chester  W.  Carpenter.     Member  of  Amherst  College. 

John  B.  Allen.     Member  of  Union  College. 

Darius  Gore.     Member  of  Amherst  College. 

Alfred  Belknap.     Member  of  Amherst  College. 

Merrick  Lyon.     Member  of  Brown  University. 


Besides  Clergymen,  the  following  Professional  men  have  pursued 
the  business  of  their  respective  professions  in  Sturbridge.  Those 
whose  names  are  marked  thus,  (t)  still  remain  in  the  same  occupa- 
tion. 

Physicians. 

Meshech  Remington 

Erasmus  Babbit 

Jacob  Corey,  M.  M.  S. 

Thomas  Babbit,  M.  D.  &  M.  M.  S. 

Mattathtas  Rice 

f  Abishai  Howard,  M.  M.  S. 

Ephraim  M.  Lyon 

f  Jacob  Corey  Jr. 

f  Daniel  Mason 

Hosea  Wheeler,  M.  D. 

t  Calvin  P.  Fiske,  M.  D. 

Orson  Parker 

Cyrus  Hutchins 

t  William  S.  Saunders,  M.  D. 

Lawyers. 

-*> 

Erasmus  Babbit  Jr. 

John  Paine  4 

t  George  Da^is.  »    „ 


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